


To Have a Home

by Multifandom_Universe



Series: Home is the People You Choose Along the Way [3]
Category: Supernatural, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, M/M, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:47:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 23
Words: 30,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23346415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_Universe/pseuds/Multifandom_Universe
Summary: As Dean blew out the candles, Tony clung to Steve’s side and looked at their son’s face in awe. He didn’t know if this was the first time the boy had candles to blow, but he knew it wouldn’t be the last. Drawn from his musings, he felt a buzz from his pocket.“Steve,” he whispered, looking at the screen in shock.“Hmm?” the man responded, looking away from the recording he was taking on his phone.“Loki is cleared to come home.”Picking up immediately where Home Sweet Home? left off, how will the newly formed family change with another member? Along with other, unexpected surprises along the way.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Home is the People You Choose Along the Way [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1495241
Comments: 386
Kudos: 325





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back, everyone! With the world turned upside down, I've had plenty of time to work on the sequel of this series. Updates will not be regular, unfortunately, because I current;y don't have a beta to help me create this world. If anyone would like to volunteer if would mean this fic gets finished a lot faster!!  
> In any case, ENJOY AND I'VE MISSED ALL OF YOU!

The couple decided to wait until the day after Dean’s party to tell the kids the good news. The rest of the night went off without a hitch: cake was eaten and laughter rang as Dean welcomed in his fifteenth year. 

“Time for presents!” Clint screamed, practically dragging the teen to the small pile of gifts.

“Clint, inside voice,” Tony admonished but ruffled the boy’s hair as he apologized.

“Open mine first!” Clint bounced on his feet, holding out a rumpled rectangular package.

“All right, all right,” Dean laughed and reached for the present. “A video game, Clint? You know this means I have one more game to kick your butt at, right?”

“Nuh-uh! I’m gonna beat  _ you _ this time!”

“Whatever you say, squirt,” the teen smiled, then reached for the next gift. Next, he opened a variety of games and technology from the rest of his siblings before opening Bobby’s. It was a rather large but flat rectangular box, which, upon opening, Dean shut again immediately. 

“Dean?” Sam asked. “What is it?”

The teen shook his head and closed his eyes, steadying his breathing. Tony, sensing Dean’s distress, glared at Bobby, not knowing or caring what was inside, but hating that it made his son feel this way.

“Dean, honey?” Steve slid onto the floor beside the teen and placed a hand on his knee. “Dean, what’s wrong?”

Taking a deep breath, Dean opened his eyes and met Bobby’s gaze. The man gave him a small nod, giving him the courage to once again lift the lid of the box. Inside sat John Whichester’s leather jacket, the one Dean had seen the man wearing the last time he saw his father alive. 

“Is that-” Sam leaned over, touching the jacket lightly as if the slightest touch would make it disappear.

“Now I can’t take full credit for it,” Bobby’s voice interrupted. “Your Mr. Coulson gave it to me, apparently he- well you kids don’t need to know how he got it, but it’s yours now, kiddo.”

Dean looked at the man in silence for a moment, before leaping to his feet and giving the man a hug. “Thanks, Uncle Bobby,” he whispered.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get soft on me now,” the man grunted, patting the teen’s back.

“Me next, Dean!” Sam said when Dean pulled away from Bobby. Inside the little box, was a simple, folded piece of paper. Raising an eyebrow to his brother, Dean opened the paper and was surprised to see a handwritten letter. 

“Sam?” the teen asked, cautiously.

“Dr. Mills helped me with it,” the boy smiled shyly.

_ Dean. _

_ I don’t really know how to write letters, but I’m gonna do my best. I didn’t know what to get you for your birthday, nothing really seemed right, ya know? So I asked Dr. Mills and she suggested this.  _

_ REASONS DEAN IS THE BEST BIG BROTHER- _

Dean tore his eyes from the paper. “Sam — ”

“You don’t have to read it now, but instead of just telling you how much you mean to me, I wrote it down. So you know it’s true,” Sam responded, quietly, shrugging. “And you can look at it as much as you want to.”

Sighing, Dean closed his eyes and pushed back his rising emotion. “Thanks, Sammy,” he whispered, pulling his brother in for a crushing hug.

“Our turn,” Tony jumped up and handed the teen a small jewelry box. 

“Um, thanks?” Dean replied, confused. “But, I’m not really a Tiffany's guy.”

“Open it before you make any witty remarks,” Tony laughed, sitting directly on Steve’s lap and pulling his husband's hands into his.

Following the instruction, Dean opened the box, only to get more confused. “A key?”

“It’s a key to our storage locker, Dean,” Steve explained. It’s where we put everything you gave us that first night. And along with the key, we’re also going to a gun range next Saturday. This key isn’t the gift, Dean. We’re trusting you to keep those weapons in the storage locker and only bring them out when one of us takes you to the range. We’re giving you our trust. ”

Dean stared at the key in his hand, taking in the silence around him. “I — thank you, I — ”

“You don’t need to thank us, Dean,” Tony reached out and squeezed Dean’s knee reassuringly. “You  _ earned _ this. You  _ earned _ every bit of trust we place in you.”

The teen blinked away tears and surprised even himself when he surged forward and wrapped himself around his foster parents. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he whispered, taking in their embrace with every fibre of his being. 

“I guess I should put that knife I kept with the others now, huh?” he asked as he pulled away. “You’ve earned my trust too.”

Steve ran his strong fingers through his son’s hair distractedly as he tried to fight down his own tears. “Thank you, Dean,” he spoke softly. “That means  _ everything _ .”

“Everything,” Tony repeated.

“Thank you, everyone, I — ” Dean pulled back and took a stabilizing breath. “I’ve never had this before and — and I can’t wait to spend every birthday from now on surrounded by my family… officially?” With that, the teen sent a shy, questioning look to his foster parents, who returned his look with surprise. Tony dropped his jaw and blinked rapidly, while Steve covered his mouth in shock.

“Dean, are you saying…” Tony trailed off, allowing the teen to finish for him.

Dean nodded and smiled. “I’d like to get adopted. If you’ll still have me.”

“ _ If we’ll _ — get over here,” Steve attacked his newest son in another hug, beaming with joy as he felt Dean squeezing back just as hard. “Thank you, Dean, thank you.”

“No, Steve. Thank you,” Dean whispered, feeling Tony join the hug. 

“ _ NOW _ you’ll officially be my big brother!” Clint shouted, jumping up and fist-bumping the air.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter alert!! I swear, not all the chapters will be this short, lol. Thank you for all of the support and love I've gotten after posting the first chapter, it really motivates me to work harder and faster for all of you :)
> 
> AND THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU TO MY NEW BETA TOOthless!! They are amazing!!!!

After the festivities, with Bobby gone and the residence gone to their own beds, Steve and Tony let themselves get excited for their newest arrival, talking long into the night about logistics and possible problems with the kids, possible triggers Loki might have and whether the teen should keep his current therapist and video call their sessions or get him one closer to home. It wasn’t until the early morning light started to creep through the crack in the curtains that the pair fell asleep, dreaming of their family, whole, for the first time. 

The next morning the couple gathered everyone in the living room after breakfast and watched the kids try to guess what the meeting was about. 

“Are we going to Disney World again?” Clint asked, bouncing on the floor. He stilled when Thor rested his hand on the boy’s shoulder and laughed. 

“Why don’t you let them tell us why we are gathered before making presumptions,” the man suggested, opening the way for the parents.

Looking at each other, Steve and Tony wrestled silently about who was going to tell them. 

“Loki’s coming home!” Tony burst out, not wanting to wait any longer. 

“What?” Sam and Clint exclaimed, huge smiles on their faces.

“We got Phil’s — sorry,  _ Mr. Coulson’s _ message yesterday! Loki had his last transplant surgery and will be cleared to fly as early as next week!” Steve was positively beaming with joy, the idea of their last son coming home after all these years completing him like he never thought possible. 

Dean, on the other hand, had to shake out the self-doubt creeping in. Steve and Tony are getting the son they’ve waited for. One they wanted before they’d even met. Why would they need him?

Ignoring it for now, Dean looked at Thor, wanting to see the man’s reaction to his brother finally joining the family he’d made all those years ago. The man was silent.

“Thor?” the teen tried getting his attention, noticing that everyone else was waiting for Thor’s response as well.

“He —  he’s really coming?” The 22-year-old man looked much younger than his years as he processed the information, eyes wide with disbelief and unshone tears.

Steve reached across the coffee table and squeezed the man’s hand tightly. “He really is,” he assured him softly. 

Thor stared at their combined hands for a moment, then vaulted upwards to pull his papa in a near bone-crushing hug. “Loki is coming home,” he whispered repeatedly. “My brother is coming home.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another huge thank you to my bet t00thless!! Enjoy, and I hope all of you are staying safe this Easter weekend!

Although the entire family knew of Loki’s existence, only Steve, Tony and Thor had actually seen the teen in person. It was decided that to keep from overwhelming the teen, only those three would greet him at the airport while the rest of the kids waited impatiently for their new family member in the living room. Sam and Clint continuously speculated on what he would be like.

“I bet he’s super nice,” Sam said.

“He better be good at video games, I want to see someone beat Dean,” Clint laughed, sticking out a tongue at the older teen. 

“That just means that we’ll team up to beat you more,” Dean winked, making the boy pout.

“You know, you’re supposed to let kids win to build their self-steam,” Clint whined, sticking out his tongue at the older boy.

Without looking up from his book, Bruce chimed in “It’s self- _ esteem _ , Clint.”

“Whatever, I still wanna win.”

The conversation was put to a halt with the sound of the garage opening, the kids staring at the door silently. A mere moment passed before Tony swung the door open and winked at the onlookers before hanging up his coat.

“Thor, you giant oaf, I can handle it myself.”

Clint’s smile got impossibly wider as he asked his dad: “Is that him?”

Tony nodded and knelt in front of the child. “Now, Loki is still recovering from his last surgery, so we’ll need to help him out and be patient with him. Okay?”

The garage door swung open as the kids responded with enthusiastic nods.

“Brother, ‘tis nothing to carry your possessions, I — ”

"You’ve been in America for how long, Thor? One would think you’d have learnt the language better by now,” the dark-haired teen interrupted his brother, dragging a suitcase behind him.

“Loki, that wasn’t very nice,” Steve admonished, closing the door behind him and pulling off his jacket.

The teen sighed and dropped his grip on the bag. “I apologize, Thor. I’m tired from the flight, is all.”

Thor, whose smile hadn’t faltered once, simply pulled the boy into a gentle hug. “I fret not, brother. I’m in Valhalla just seeing you in person.”

“That’s enough,” Loki pushed away and righted his clothes, poorly hiding a wince of pain. “I assume our audience has a reason for being here?” 

Tony cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Loki, these are your new siblings. You might recognize most of them from the video calls and pictures, but Sam and Dean are our newest.”

Clint couldn't stand still any longer and jolted forward, stopped only by Tony, to give Loki a hug. “He’s still healing, remember kiddo?” Tony reminded the boy.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, Loki,” Clint beamed at the teen. “I just got excited to finally meet you! You look different on a screen, but I’m still so happy to get another big brother! That makes four now!”

“Clinton? I presume?” Loki asked, a lopsided grin appearing on his face. 

“Yup!” he answered, nodding his head. “And that’s Nat, and Sam, and — ”

“How about we let everyone introduce themselves, bud,” Tony interrupted, ruffling the boy's hair. 

“Well? Who’s next?” Loki asked, looking at the others. 

“I’m Sam,” Sam introduced himself, stepping forward and offering his hand to the newest member of the family.

“Sam. A pleasure,” Loki replied. “One of the newest, yes?”

“Uh-huh! Dad and Papa haven’t actually adopted us yet, but they said our court date is in a month, and then no one will be able to take us away from them!” Sam beamed.

“I know the feeling, Sam,” the teen smiled once more and looked towards the other three.

“Natasha,” Nat spoke, watching the teen skeptically, offering nothing else.

“Pleasure,” Loki wisely moved on. “And you?”

Dean, unlike Natasha, stepped toward the other teen and offered his hand. “Dean. The other newbie.”

“Dean,” Loki repeated, nodding once. “And the other one?”

Bruce looked up from his book and gave a small wave. “Bruce,” he called out softly, before returning to his reading.

“He’s not very social today, you’ll get to him and his moods over time,” Tony explained. 

“All right, with introductions made, I’m gonna start dinner, everyone wash up and be in the dining room in an hour,” Steve instructed. “Loki, Thor will take you and your bags up to your room, everyone else, don’t crowd him, let him rest.” Steve eyed the rest of his children playfully and started rolling up his sleeves, headed towards the kitchen.

“Everyone good? I’m gonna help your Papa if no one needs anything?” Tony asked. He took the following silence as an answer and, after kissing the top of Clint’s head and squeezing Loki’s shoulder gently, followed his husband.

“Let us go to your rooms, brother! I have — ”

“God, do you  _ ever _ shut up?” Loki snapped. 

“Hey,” Dean chastised, frowning. 

The other teen simply rolled his eyes and headed for the stairs. “I assume these are not merely for decoration and my room is on the second floor? Thor, are you coming? Gods, I thought you wanted to carry my things, not stand beside them, useless.”

Natasha placed a hand on Dean’s shoulder, stopping him from following the brothers.

“But Nat — ”

“I know. But no one's first day goes great,” she answered.

Dean looked back to his first day all those months ago, his offer to his newest foster parents and all the wards and sigils already in place. He nodded in agreement.

* * *

Loki continued to baffle Dean during the rest of the evening, one moment the dark-haired teen would be perfectly pleasant and smiling happily, the next a snear and eye roll would accompany someone’s remark.

Following Natasha’s advice, Dean pushed down his anger and ignored the teen, earning himself a couple of crescent shaped dents in his palms and a distinctive bend in his fork. 

Following movie night, the kids headed up to their respective rooms for beds. Dean was just finished in the bathroom when he saw Loki’s door close silently. 

_ No one’s first day goes great, _ thought Dean, deciding to give the other teen another chance.

“Loki?” he called out in front of the closed door after knocking.

The door swung open and Dean stepped back in surprise. 

“What?” Loki sneered, he glared at the other boy in what seemed like hatred.

“Hey,” Dean began, mustering up every ounce of diplomacy he possessed. “I know the first few days are the hardest, so if you ever need anything —”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” the raven-haired teen rolled his eyes and went to close the door once more when Dean braced the door with his hand.

“Hey, what’s up with the bitchiness?” he spat, no longer able to control his anger.

“My apologies, my mood is always soured when I smell the trash, and oh — here you are. Goodnight.” Loki responded in a sickly sweet voice, then succeeded in slamming the door.

“Why you little—”

“Dean,” Natasha’s voice rang quietly in the otherwise empty hallway.

“But he—”

“I know. In time, hopefully, he’ll apologize.  _ Really  _ apologize. But for now—”

“Be patient and let him settle in?”

Nat smiled softly and nodded.

* * *

Sam and Dean were laying in their respective beds later that night, both awake but not acknowledging the other in the dark.

“Dean?”

“Yeah, Sam. What’s up?”

“What do you think about Loki?”

“He’s a dick.”

Sam sat up, mouth open in shock. “Dean!” 

“What? He is,” Dean responded, moving his arms behind his head. 

“He’s been through a lot — ”

“So have I, can I murder Clint’s goldfish?”

“He hasn’t — ”

“Not yet.”

“Dean!”

The teen sighed and sat up to look at his younger brother. “Look. You asked me my opinion, and there it is: he’s a dick. Can I sleep now?”

Grumbling, Sam lay back down and settled in his blankets, watching Dean do the same. “You’re kind of a dick too,” he muttered under his breath.

“Excuse me?” Dean huffed, biting back a laugh. At the returning silence, Dean threw a pillow across the space to hit his little brother in the face.

“Hey!” Sam called out, stunned.

“What do you want?” Dean smiled, “I’m a dick, right?” Laughing, he dodged the returning pillow easily and listened to the boy grumble in the dark.


	4. Chapter 4

The siblings gave the teen a couple of weeks in which to let him adjust, not rising to his challenge and being perfectly amicable with one another. Clint assured both Sam and Dean that the others did the same thing for them when they came and it seemed to help with the adjustment period.

With those assurances, Dean silently waited for the raven-haired teen to —well he didn’t know what he was waiting for. For Loki to be less of a dick? For him to actually realize that he should be thanking Thor instead of constantly berating him? Nevertheless, he waited.

Loki….did not get better. 

When Clint invited him to play video games he was met with rolled eyes and loud scoff.

Any attempt made by Thor was shot down by a scathing and often hurtful comment that Thor refused to take to heart.

Loki refused straight out to acknowledge Bruce's existence, not antagonizing the man, but simply ignoring him.

Sam got the closest thing to a positive response when, noticing the teen’s love of books, he showed him the library. Loki got quiet for a moment, then began searching the shelves, telling the boy to leave him.

Natasha and Dean seemed to be in agreement that their efforts to engage the other teen would be futile at worst and uncomfortable at best, and thus made themselves scarce.

This was all, of course, only when Steve and Tony weren’t there. Dean seriously wondered if the boy had a personality disorder with how fast his demeanour changed. 

Dean got tired of waiting though. Clint and Sam were taken to one of their friends' birthday parties, while the older siblings did their homework together in the library one Saturday afternoon.

Loki was sprawled across an armchair by the fireplace, away from the other four sitting at the tables together.

“Thor, bring me my bag,” the teen commanded.

“How about a please?” Natasha muttered, causing Dean to flash her a smile in agreement.

“What’s the magic —”

“Now, Thor. I need to look up a translation.”

The man sighed and reached around to the bag, not noticing that it was trapped under the chair’s leg. When he pulled, the bag overturned and dumped the contents onto the floor.

“Thor, I’m surprised you managed to dress yourself this morning, nevertheless function as a human being,” Loki scoffed. Dean, overhearing the scathing comment balled his fists and headed Natasha’s slight shake of her head.  _ Stay out of it _ , she warned silently.

Thor merely picked up the dropped belongings and smiled at his brother. “I fear I don’t understand your jests again, brother.”

Rolling his eyes, Loki responded under his breath: “No surprise there.”

Dean let his anger burst through, ignoring the advice of his sister. “Hey, the fuck man? He’s literally the only one that likes you right now, you could be a little grateful.”

“Ah, the trailer trash speaks. I was worried you had forgotten.” The other teen didn’t even lift his head in acknowledgement.

“Trailer trash? Who you callin' trash, you pompous asshole? You —”

“Dean, remember your breathing,” Thor interrupted.

“Breathing? How about basic fucking decency? He—” 

“What he said was unkind, but not deserving of a fight. I’m sure he will apologize in his own time.” The man grinned, wholeheartedly believing his brother would soon ‘see the error of his ways’.

“Fuck this,” Dean spat over his shoulder as he stomped towards the door.

“What’s going on?” Tony poked his head through. “I was gonna ask if anyone wanted a snack, but those aren’t studying noises.”

“Loki’s being a dick again,” Dean nearly shouted, pointing at the other teen. Of course, the boy was no longer sprawled, now his feet were on the ground, his back was hunched and eyes wide. He was the picture of innocence. 

“Loki?” Tony prompted.

“I— there was yelling, and I—” he spurted, tears forming in his eyes.

“Woah, woah,” Tony ran towards the boy, crouching beside the armchair. “You’re okay, bud, everything’s okay.”

“He’s fucking faking!” Dean shouted, eyes flashing with fury.

“Dean,” Tony snapped, then took a bracing breath. “I think it’s best we give everyone some space, why don’t you all finish your homework in your rooms, yeah?”

“Fine with me.” Dean began gathering his things, huffing every now and then.

“I didn’t even do anything,” Nat murmured, earning an apologetic smile from Dean. 

“Do you need anything, Loki?” Tony asked softly, ignoring the sounds of the others.

“No, thank you,” the teen replied just as softly. “I think I’ll just go lie down for a while if that’s alright?”

The engineer smiled and patted Loki’s knee reassuringly. “Of course it’s okay, bud. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Oh, come—”

“Dean,” Tony interrupted the blond. “Come with me. You’re not in trouble, I just wanna talk.”

With one final glare to the other teen, Dean followed the man to the garage and sat beside him on the sofa beside the work station.

“Tony, I’m sorry I exploded but—” he began.

“I know, Dean.” Tony leaned back and ran a hand through his hair, making the ends stick up ridiculously. “Not about you being sorry, but about Loki being….difficult.”

Scoffing, Dean muttered quietly “If that’s what you wanna call it.”

“Phil warned Steve and I before Loki came, but Dean, Steve and I really think it’s just him trying to find stability, and the longer he’s here, the less he’ll lash out.”

“So the rest of us are just supposed to take it?”

“We have a plan to talk to Loki through all of this, make him stop taking it out on you guys because that isn’t fair at all,” Tony explained. “The only problem is that we have to wait until we catch him in the act. We can’t go to him with speculation, it might make things worse.”

“What about the security cameras?” Dean suggested.

“No, we don’t want him thinking he’s a prisoner always being watched,” the man replied, then placed a hand on the teen’s knee. “Look, this is for Steve and I to figure out. I’m really,  _ really _ sorry that he’s antagonizing all of you like this, know that it absolutely breaks our hearts. We know it’s unfair to ask this of you, but please, all we’re asking for is a little more time. A little more patience. Can you do that?”

* * *

“He’s just such a dick!” Dean exclaimed, sprawling out on Dr. Mills’ sofa.

“Have you tried reaching out to him?” she asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

Dean rolled his eyes dramatically. “Yeah, I’m gonna attempt to be friends with the guy that thinks he’s better than me,” he responded sarcastically.

“I think you’ll be surprised what happens if you put in a little effort.”

“Yeah, he could murder me in my sleep,” the teen muttered.

“Do you really think he’d do that?” the woman asked, eyebrows furled in concern.

“Who knows! He’s such a great fucking actor that Steve and Tony have absolutely no idea that he’s actually Satan!”

“Are you sure you’re not exaggerating just a little?” she asked, eyes glinting.

Dean leaned forward on his elbows and gave the woman the most serious face he could. “He said he was so far above us that he could drop a boot and squish us like ants.”

Jody blinked in surprise. “Yeah, that kid needs some help.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello! I hope everybody is staying safe and sane out there!!   
> Another huge thank you to my beta for all her help and I can't wait to read all of your reactions to this chapter!!!

“Hey, hun,” Steve whispered as he kissed his husband’s cheek. “How were the kids?”

“Eh,” Tony shrugged in response. “The other kids?”

“Other than Clint having cake in his hair, little angels,” the soldier chuckled. “Want help with dinner?”

“Nah, I’m almost done,” Tony replied, pulling the casserole dish out from the oven. “You can just stand there and look pretty.”

“Ah, my favourite pastime,” laughed Steve, leaning up against the counter beside the stove. “So what happened? Why the ‘eh’?”

Pulling off his oven mitts, Tony sighed. “Loki. He and Dean got into an argument. I didn’t see it though.”

“That boy is almost as good at hiding as you are,” Steve smirked, earning a playful slap on the arm.

“This is serious, Steve. The kids are getting picked on and we can’t do anything about it.”

“I know, love,” the blond sighed and wrapped himself carefully around the other man. “But, like you said, we can’t do anything about it. At least until he slips up.”

The two stood there silently, lost in their embrace until the stove timer went off, startling the pair. Tony continued bustling around the kitchen while Steve once again leaned against the counter, watching. 

“I really wanted to resolve it before Sam and Dean’s hearing, though,” Steve sighed.

“Hey, that’s still two weeks away, plenty of time for us to catch him,” Tony reassured him. “Can you call the moochers for dinner?”

“Tony —”

“Kids, moochers, is there really a difference Steve?”

“Tony!”

* * *

“So tomorrow you’re taking Natasha to ballet, right?” Tony asked later that night, putting paste on his toothbrush.

“No, actually, Thor volunteered to drive her,” Steve answered, wiping his face with a towel. “Which means I can drive Bruce to the library if you want to put in a couple more hours in the lab?”

“Nah, kinda wanna spend some time with him, R&D can suck my ass.”

“Tony—”

“Unless you wanna—”

The innuendo was cut off by the sound of Steve’s phone ringing in the bedroom. 

“Ugh, bunch of cockblockers,” Tony muttered, then began to brush his teeth.

“Tony, you don’t even know who it is,” Steve laughed, leaving their ensuite to retrieve the phone.

“S’Wilson,” Tony slurred around the brush. “Thas his rin ‘one.”

Ignoring his husband, Steve answered the phone. “Hey, Sam, what’s up?”

Tony, while he tried to be a good husband, was a nosey motherfucker, but even he had no idea what the two were talking about, especially since he gave up on stalling and had to run the tap eventually.

“Okay, thank you, Sam. I’ll think about it,” the engineer heard.

“What did Sam want?” Tony called from the bathroom, only to receive silence. “Steve?”

The brunette poked his head through the door to see his husband sitting on the edge of their bed, his phone on the floor and his face in a daze.

“Steve?!” Tony ran to the man, kneeling in front of him and cradling the blond’s face in his hands. “Baby, talk to me, what’s wrong?”

Focusing his gaze on his husband, Steve replied softly: “Bucky’s alive.”

“What?” Tony asked, confused. “I thought he died? Fell off a helicopter…” 

“He did, at least… I thought so,” Steve’s eyes drifted off again.

“Oh, no. You stay here with me, Steve. You are not going back to that hell, you are staying with your husband in our warm bedroom on our fluffy blankets and you are going to tell me exactly what Sam said,” Tony demanded, bringing Steve off the edge of flashback or even an episode of dissociation. “Look at me.”

Steve took a sudden breath as if coming up for air, he grasped Tony’s hands on his face and held them tightly. “They found a POW camp. For some reason they have a list of all the prisoners and Bucky’s one of them,” the blond raised his eyes brimming with tears to Tony’s. “He’s alive.”

Tony pulled Steve in for a hug, holding him as tightly as he could. “That’s amazing, Steve. I’m so happy for you!” 

The soldier took a shaky breath and let out a small sob. “He’s alive. Oh my god, he’s alive.”

“He is!” Tony rubbed the man’s back, comforting him through his shock. “When do you get to see him?” he asked.

Steve shook his head slightly. “They haven’t rescued them yet.” The man leaned back, putting distance between them and shaking off the excess emotions. “That’s what the phone call was about, they found him and they need to get him out.”

Steve took a bracing breath. “They offered to let me run the mission.”

“Active combat?” Tony’s eyes widened. “Babe, I love you, but — ”

“No,” interrupted Steve. “Not active combat. They set up a base a couple of hundred miles away with state of the art monitoring equipment. They said all the guys would be wearing cameras and comms and I’d be leading the mission from the base.”

“How long would it take?” Tony asked slowly.

“They said anywhere from two weeks to three months,” Steve whispered.

The two were silent while Tony took in the information. “You need to do it, you know you’re the best person for the job.”

“But Tony, what about the kids?”

“What am I? Hammertech?” the genius responded, earning an eye roll from his husband.

“Love, there are now seven people under the age of 23 in this house. You can’t do it by yourself!” Steve pleaded with the man to see reason.

“I’ll take some time off! The new Starkphone just came on the market, I know there aren’t any bugs in it, so it would just be new projects from here on out anyways.” Tony placed his hands on the blond’s face and looked him straight in the eye. “This is  _ Bucky _ , Steve. You  _ need _ to help get him back.”

“Not at the expense of my family.”

“Bullshit,” Tony spat. “We know you love us, but we also know you can’t leave him in enemy hands. This is a man’s life we’re talking about, Steve. You’re going.”

“I’ll miss Sam and Dean’s adoption, Tony, I can’t go!”

“I’ll make some calls, see if we can move it up. They’ll understand, Steve. You and Bucky? You  _ are _ Sam and Dean. Babe, they’ll understand.”

The captain studied his husband’s face, then, after a moment, sighed and wrapped the man in a hug. “I’ll talk to the kids, see what they say, but you’re right. I can’t just leave him there,” he whispered.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter hasn't been looked over by my lovely beta yet (I may just have finished it a couple of hours ago, whoops) so it may change slightly in the coming week.  
> But I hope everyone is staying safe, sane and healthy!!  
> Also: Disclaimer that I know nothing about the American adoption process, everything I know is based on books and movies :)

The next night, after making several high priority phone calls and greasing only a couple of hands, Tony managed to move Sam and Dean’s adoption hearing to the following weekend. The only hurdle was then talking to the kids and telling the boys.

“Okay, what’s with the family meeting?” Dean asked, sprawled over an armchair in the living room. “Don’t tell me you’re adopting another kid.”

“Very funny,” Steve ruffled the teen’s hair before sitting beside his husband on the couch. “No, we’re not adopting someone else. This is about, well, about your adoption, Dean. Yours and Sam’s.”

Both boy’s faces fell, and the self-doubt was emanating from the pair in waves.

“No!” Tony shouted. “We’re still adopting you, of course we’re still adopting you!”

“Of course we are,” Steve reassured the boys, “I’m so sorry for phrasing it like that and worrying you. We actually want to move the court date up so we get to sign those papers sooner.”

“Really?” Sam asked, quietly. Steve held out his hand and pulled the boy onto his lap, embracing him. 

“Yes, really,” Steve replied. “We already have a date booked this weekend. Is that alright with you?”

The question was answered with a tight hug from Sam and a steely nod from Dean. The teen attempted a smile, but what came out was more of a grimace. 

_No chick flick moments,_ he thought.

“Awesome, as much as we really want you to be a part of our family forever, that’s not the only reason we’re pushing it up,” Tony continued. “Steve?”

The soldier took a bracing breath and tightened his grip on Sam. “You all remember me talking about my best friend growing up?” 

This was met with nods from everyone except Loki.

“So Loki, my best friend growing up was named Bucky. He was practically my brother in every way but blood, saved my life more than enough times to earn it,” the man explained, smiling and losing himself in his memories. “Well, when we turned eighteen, we both enlisted in the army. I made my way up to Captain and him to Sargent. We led three tours together before an extraction went wrong and he fell out of the helicopter.”

“I’m sorry,” Loki replied somberly.

“I got a call from Mr. Wilson the other day” Steve paused, thinking about how to continue. “He—he gave me some news.”

Tony reached out and held his husband’s hand in support.

“He told me that they found Bucky. He’s alive. They’ve asked me to lead the mission to get him out.”

The room was deathly quiet before the eruption of noise and commotion.

“Everyone calm down,” Tony stood up and tried to get the children to settle down. Steve, on the other hand, was overwhelmed and hid his face in Sam’s hair.

“He’s not going unless everyone agrees, and it’s not an active combat mission so he’s not going to be in too much danger,” Tony explained, finally getting control of the room.

“When would you be leaving?” Bruce asked

“Sometime next week, that’s why we had to move up the adoption,” Tony answered. “Any other questions?”

“Papa?” Sam’s voice was quiet.

“Yes, sweetheart?” Steve pulled his face away to look the boy in the eyes.

“Bucky, he was really like a brother to you?”

“As real a brother as Dean is for you,” the father replied.

The boy thought for a moment, his brows furled in concentration. “Then you have to go. That’s what brothers do,” the boy said. “And I want to meet my Uncle Bucky.” 

Tears filled in Steve’s eyes as he pulled the boy back in for another tight hug.

“And the rest of you?” Tony asked.

With a resounding push from the kids, Steve’s flight was scheduled the following week.

* * *

Dean looked down at the signed piece of paper in his hands with awe. It was done. He was adopted. He had a permanent home, and parents that loved him, and even more siblings to look out for and get on his nerves.

The hearing itself was short and sweet, more like a ceremony, really, with the boys agreeing that this was what they wanted and Steve and Tony signing the paperwork with beaming smiles. 

Sam had chosen to hyphenate his last name to Winchester-Stark, while the couple had adamantly assured Dean that they were perfectly fine with him keeping his, and if he ever wanted to change it, to only let them know. 

“Hey, Dean, you okay?” Steve asked softly, bending down a little so to catch the teen’s eye. The question broke Dean’s concentration and the world snapped back into place. The family was currently having a pizza party to celebrate with Mr. Coulson, Mr. Wilson, and even Bobby. The noise from the kitchen and dining room saturated the air and travelled into the den where Dean had escaped to.

“Yeah, Steve,” he blinked. “I’m fine.”

“You sure?” the man’s brows furled in concern, noticing the way the teen’s mind seemed far away. “I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

Dean sighed and put the paper back on the coffee table where its frame waited to be filled. “Nothing’s wrong, I just—I keep wondering about what my dad would say about all of this,” he sighed, running a hand through his once styled hair, making the ends stick up haphazardly.

“Ah,” Steve responded and leaned back against the sofa, the two of them waiting in silence for the other to speak. After a minute or two, the man stood up, moved the coffee table away from the sofa and knelt in front of his son.

“Dean, I never did meet your father,” he began. “But, if something were to happen to Tony and I and all of you were left without a home, I would only _hope_ that there was a family that loved you as much as we do to take you in and take care of you. And to give you the love and attention that you deserve.”

Slowly, Steve reached out a hand and placed it on Dean’s knee, smiling when the teen pushed back a little in acceptance and looked him in the eye for the first time.

“You will always be John’s son, Dean. And Mary’s too. Now you just have a couple of extra dads to give you the love that they can’t give you themselves anymore,” the man whispered, rubbing his thumb across Dean’s knee in comfort.

The teen gave a small smile and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, that makes sense,” he agreed, before placing his hand on top of Steve’s and squeezing tightly. He closed his eyes and took a cleansing breath, then, with every ounce of sincerity the boy possessed, held Steve’s hand and gaze and told the man: “ _Thank you_.”

Steve’s breath hitched in emotion and surprise, then, biting back tears, smiled and nodded. “Dean,” the man attempted to collect himself, then slowly pulled his son into a tight hug, holding the boy closely to his chest.

Dean followed the man’s guidance into the embrace and hid his face into his _adoptive_ father’s neck, holding onto the man just as tightly.

“Dean,” Steve tried again, pausing to kiss the teen’s hair. “Know that there’s absolutely no need to thank us for anything we do, especially for loving you and Sam. Know, that for as long as there’s life in my lungs, I will love you with every breath I take. But you’re welcome all the same.”

The man didn’t comment on the hitch that developed in the teen’s breathing, or the fact that Dean held the soldier just a little bit tighter. The two stayed there, enveloped in each other, the stillness only broken when Steve would run a hand over the boy’s back or turn to kiss his head again.

Feeling his son in his arms, Steve knew that he wouldn’t hesitate to die for this boy, just like any other of his children and made a silent promise to a man he never knew: _I swear John Winchester, I will do everything to protect this boy._


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll notice that I finally put a rating to this fic....this chapter is why lol  
> If you don't want to read explicit sex, just skip the parts in between the ***

With every day that passed until Steve's flight, the atmosphere of the house grew darker and more sombre.

"Papa, you're gonna call when you're gone, right?" Clint asked during dinner the night before the man left.

Steve sighed and put down his cutlery to give the boy his full attention. "The place I'm going is really top secret, and that means no communication via technology. So I won't be able to call, but I'll still write you guys as much as I can," he promised, giving his son a sad smile.

"Isn't dad a tech genius though? He can make something that they wouldn't be able to find, right?" Sam asked.

"I already did, bud. But the military doesn't trust me since I stopped giving them weapons of mass destruction, so they've banned Papa from bringing anything electronic on the off chance it could be used for contacting, oh I don't know, his husband and kids," Tony grumbled, stabbing his broccoli with more force than necessary.

"When are you leaving tomorrow?" Bruce chimed in.

"Early. My plane leaves at 0500, which means I probably won't see any of you in the morning. I'll say goodbye to everyone before you go to bed, though," Steve smiled reassuringly at all his kids. "Look," he started, "I know you all want me to go, but this doesn't have to happen, I—"

"Don't you dare, Steven Grant Stark," Tony pointed his fork at the man. "You are saving Bucky and that is final."

Steve looked at his husband, silent, then reached out and took the man's hand. "Thank you."

* * *

With every child that made their way up to bed, Steve followed.

"Papa?"

"Yes, darling?"

"You're coming back, right?" Sam asked, big brown eyes shimmering.

Steve smiled softly and pulled the ten-year-old onto his lap and wrapped him in a hug. "I'll do my best, sweetheart. I'm only leading the mission through video and radio feeds, so I should be perfectly safe in the compound, Sam."

"I'm gonna miss you, Papa."

With a kiss to the boy's head, the man responded: "I'll miss you more."

* * *

"Are you gonna bring me back anything, Papa?"

With a laugh, Steve replied: "I highly doubt there's a gift shop in the middle of the desert, Clint."

"Oh. Well, how about some sand? I don't think anyone else in my class has sand from the desert!"

Steve gave the boy a tight hug. "I can do that. I'll bring you back some sand."

"Are you gonna miss me, Papa?"

"Every second of every day."

* * *

"Bye, Steve. Good luck," Dean said, awkwardly. The two were standing in front of the bedroom door, not wanting to wake up Sam.

"Thank you, Dean," Steve smiled. "Is it alright if I give you a hug?"

Shrugging, Dean muttered: "Sure."

Confirmation received, Steve folded himself around the teen, holding tightly and feeling Dean melt into the embrace.

"I love you so much, Dean. So much. I'm going to miss you."

The teen bit back a sob, staying in the embrace just a little longer before letting go and hiding his face.

"We're gonna miss you too, Steve," the teen said softly. Before opening the door, Dean paused. "You come back, alright? You do everything you can to come back to us. We need our Papa."

Steve gasped silently, knowing the weight of the boy's words, before nodding solemnly. "I promise I'll do my best."

* * *

"May I come in?" Steve asked, hovering outside Loki's room. The teen nodded, sitting on his bed and allowing the man enough room to sit beside him.

"I'm so sorry I'm leaving so soon after you got here," the blond apologized.

Loki shrugged in response. "It is not as if you chose the timing. Your friend has been found, you go to him. Completely understandable."

"It's okay to be upset, though, if you are," Steve assured him.

"Thank you, but I will be fine. I have my brother and your partner, not to mention I'm not one of the children losing their father to a foreign conflict," the teen smiled politely.

Nodding slightly, Steve's heart stopped for a second, knowing he shouldn't have expected Loki to see him in that role just yet. "May I give you a hug before I leave?"

The teen stiffened but nodded slowly. The hug wasn't nearly as warm as the other kids' and Steve mourned the opportunity to grow their relationship, instead of putting it on hold.

"You're a great kid, Loki. I'm gonna miss you so much."

* * *

"Can I come in?" Steve asked as he stood in the doorway of Natasha's room.

Nodding, Natasha didn't even wait for the man to cross the threshold before hugging her father with everything she had. Steve hugged back just as fiercely, muttering how much he loved the girl.

"I'm going to miss you so much, my darling."

* * *

"Is today a touching day?" Steve asked as he sat beside Bruce.

The boy shook his head slightly, his head buried in a newly published study.

"That's okay, sweetheart. I just want to tell you how much I love you and I'm going to miss you while I'm gone," Steve smiled, taking in Bruce's concentrating face.

Lifting his eyes from the screen, Bruce smiled slightly in return. "I love you too, Papa. See you when you come back."

* * *

"Papa?" Thor called out when Steve shut Bruce's door. The man was standing in the middle of the hallway, shuffling from side to side.

"Thor." Steve made his way to his son and enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug, which Thor gladly returned full force.

"Papa, I am going to miss you so much," Thor whispered.

"Not as much as I'm going to miss you," the soldier whispered back.

"You will write to us every day, yes?"

"I'll do my best. And only if you all do the same."

Thor nodded vigorously.

"I love you so much, darling."

"I love you too, Papa."

* * *

"Oh no, you take your sad eyes right out of this room, mister," Tony said sternly. "There will be no goodbyes here."

"Tony—"

"Nope. Tonight we will have mind-blowing sex, just like always and then tomorrow morning you're going to kiss me within an inch of my life and say 'see you later'," the man insisted. "That way you have to come back safe and sound because we never said goodbye, so you can't die."

Smiling at his husband's antics, Steve climbed into their bed to lay next to the genius. "Your logic is flawed."

"Pfft, I thought you knew by now, husband-dearest, I'm never wrong!"

The blond laughed and leaned down to kiss the man. "I'll take your word for it."

Tony pulled Steve down to kiss him again deeply. "Good. Now, about that mind-blowing sex," he whispered, tracing a hand up the soldier's shirt, outlining the man's muscles.

"Hmm, I don't know, Tony. I'm pretty tired," Steve teased, moving to pull away.

The engineer gripped the back of Steve's hair tightly, preventing him from going far. "Don't you dare. I'm gonna die without sex while you're gone, the least you can do is give me something to jerk to."

"Well, if it's the least I could do," Steve said, closing in to nibble on his husband's ear. "Then your wish is my command," he whispered, feeling Tony shiver.

"God, yes," the man groaned.

"How do you want to do this?" Steve asked, kissing and nipping Tony's neck.

Tony simply groaned and pulled the man impossibly closer. "Don't care, just need you."

"In that case," the blond pulled back to rest his forehead against Tony's. "I'm gonna make you feel me until I come back. It'll be like I never left."

The engineer surged up and kissed the other man. "Yes, please, oh my god, yes."

Steve smiled and nipped at Tony's lip before licking it, asking for entry. Groaning at the taste, Steve licked at the inside of his husband's mouth, wanting to memorize every detail of the love of his life. Sinking further into the kiss, he felt Tony sigh, giving all control to the blond and simply basking in the arms of his husband. Moving down, Steve began sucking at Tony's neck, not caring enough to hide the marks.

"Off. Off," Tony pushed Steve's shirt higher, needing to feel the man's skin. The blond pulled back just far enough to whip the shirt off his head and pull Tony's shirt off as well before returning to the man's neck.

Tony revelled in the feeling of his husband's chest, flattening his hands over abs and around pecs and raking his fingernails down the soldier's nipples and feeling him suck just a little harder. The engineer gasped and threw his head back when he felt Steve bite his collarbone.

"Please, Steve, please, I need you," he whimpered. With one more nip and a soothing lick, Steve kissed Tony's slack mouth and reached for the lube in the nightstand and sat back between the man's legs.

"I think you're wearing too many clothes," the blond teased, then bent over and began to undo Tony's belt with his mouth, something he was very proud to have learned before they started dating. Just as Steve knew it would, Tony went wild and bucked his hips while tangling his hands in the soldier's short hair. Teasing the zipper of Tony's jeans down with his teeth, he peeked through his eyelashes to see his husband red and panting, his mouth completely slack-jawed as he watched the man undress him.

***

When the jeans were out of the way, Steve wasted no time in licking the hard outline of Tony's dick through his boxers, earning a deep and long groan from the man. Taking a second to wink playfully, the blond sucked hard at the tip through the material.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit," Tony chanted, thrusting slightly, pulling on Steve's hair.

The boxers were already wet with precum, Steve sucked at the material until it was so wet with spit it clung to every ridge beneath it. Only then did he reach up and rip the material down at the seams, leaving scraps behind as the cock jumped up in enthusiasm.

"Fuck, babe," Tony panted. "I'm gonna add those to the sexy box," he teased, voice breathy in pleasure.

Steve smiled and kissed the man's hip bone before sucking his husband's dick down until it bumped his throat. Concentrating, he took a deep breath and swallowed the head into his throat.

"Oh my god! Oh my god, babe, you broke my brain, you— oh!" Tony gasped as Steve took him farther down, making gagging and slurping noises every once in a while in between coming up for air.

"Stop, Steve, oh god, you need to stop," the engineer begged.

Panting, Steve rested on his elbows hovering above the man's dripping wet cock. The soldier's face was covered in spit and precum and flushed from arousal and exertion. Taking one look at his husband's debauched face, Tony pulled him up to kiss him, not caring in the slightest that his beard was getting covered in his own spunk.

"You, sir, are only getting better at that," Tony said between kisses.

The two clutched each other tightly as they kissed, rubbing Steve's still cloth-covered erection over Tony's red and aching one.

"Too many clothes, Steve," Tony whispered. "Give me a show."

Steve laughed and buried his face in his husband's neck. "I see how this is going, eh? I do all the work and you get to sit back and relax."

"Honey. Love. Studmuffin. Have you seen the size of your dick? It's gonna be a hell of a time getting it in little old me, the least you can do is let me ogle you like an expensive stripper," Tony teased.

Sitting up and sticking out his tongue, Steve stood on the bed and turned around, swaying his hips slowly and running his hands over his ass. "This what you want, babe?" he asked, looking over his shoulder to see Tony practically salivating. Reaching up to his chest, Steve pinched one of his nipples and whimpered, his knees almost giving out in pleasure.

"Jesus Christ," Tony muttered.

"No, just me," Steve grinned, dodging the pillow Tony threw at his head.

The blond continued, tracing down his stomach and slowly unzipped his pants, letting every sound it made echo through the room, building anticipation. Undoing the button, Steve pushed the pants down an inch or so, just enough for his pubic hair to peek out and leaving the top of his crease exposed. Turning back around to face his husband, Steve ran his hand down his front, letting his thumb get caught in the tent poking through his undone clasp.

"I change my mind, strip and get over here," Tony said, making grabby hands.

"Nuh-uh, Tony," Steve smirked, gyrating his hips and pinching the other nipple, earning another whimper. "This is what you asked for, this is what you're getting."

"But, honeybunch—"

"Shh, I'm enjoying myself," the blond whispered, letting a hand sneak in between his pants and briefs slightly before coming back up to touch his stomach some more.

"Ugh, Steve, you're killing me," Tony moaned.

The other man just smiled and pushed his pants down another inch, just enough to get access to his balls. With one hand on his balls and the other on his nipple, Steve alternated between gasping and moaning while Tony clutched the sheets in desperation.

"Please, Steve," the engineer begged.

With another smirk, the man replied: "Well, since you asked so nicely," then proceeded to tug the front of his pants and underwear until the seams gave way, leaving the man completely naked with nothing but red lines to show where the materials had given way. Immediately, Steve's dick bounced up and Tony licked his lips at the sight.

"Show off," the genius muttered.

Getting on his hands and knees, Steve began to crawl up his husband's body. "You know you love it," he whispered, kissing Tony once more. Coming back up, Steve reached for the forgotten lube. "You ready?" he asked as he warmed the lube in his hands.

"If you are not in me in the next two seconds I will get out the dildos, I swear to god," Tony swore, nipping Steve's lips.

"Alright, alright," the blond laughed, and with a slicked-up finger, began circling his husband's hole, kissing his neck all the while.

"Ste—" Tony began to complain before the other man chose that moment to push in, getting almost the entire digit in before feeling resistance.

"Good, good, more, god more," the genius panted, pulling Steve somehow closer and pushing himself further down on the finger.

"Patience, love. Don't wanna hurt you," Steve muttered, biting Tony's ear.

"Screw nice and gentle, you promised you'd let me feel it," Tony whispered, sinking his nails into his husband's back, ensuring the long red lines would last at least a couple days.

"If you're sure," Steve started, pulling his finger out before pushing two back in. Tony swung his head back and groaned, letting the sensation fill him up, thrusting down slightly.

Once Steve was up to four fingers, Tony was fucking himself on the digits and moaning wantonly. "Please, Steve, please," he begged.

Pulling his fingers out, Steve nipped once more at Tony's neck, admiring the lovely collage of bruises before lubing himself up and positioning himself at his husband's entrance. He hooked his arms around Tony's legs and paused. Before he could get a word out the engineer practically shouted: "For god's sake, fuck me Steven Stark!"

Steve smiled and obliged. Pushing in slowly, the man let his husband get used to the full feeling, stopping at every tense and gasp until he was fully seated inside. He gave the other man a minute, holding himself back from the wonderful feeling until getting the nod to continue.

Without warning, Steve pounded into the man again and again, causing Tony to reach up and grab hold of the headboard and punching out little huffs of air from the man's lungs with every slap of skin on skin.

The act itself was animalistic, grunts and bites, Steve bent down to take Tony's nipple in his mouth and had to stifle a scream from the man with his palm. The first brush of Steve's dick to Tony's prostate had Tony's eyes rolling back into his head with pleasure. Steve focused on that spot and watched his husband fall apart beneath him, and with one hand jerking the man's cock and Steve's teeth on his collarbone, Tony squealed into his arm at his release.

The blond fucked the man through his orgasm, only pausing when Tony collapsed bonelessly on the bed.

"Steve," the man panted. "If you stop now, I'm gonna have to kill you."

With a laugh, Steve kissed his husband and continued pounding the man's hole, using it at a fuck toy, continually lick and sucking at Tony's neck and chest. When Steve's rhythm began faltering, Tony clenched his hole and felt the blond breathing heavily into his neck. The genius pulled on the man's hair and swallowed the groan that came with Steve's release.

Steve pulled away from the kiss and rested his forehead against Tony's chest, breathing hard while his husband ran his hands up and down his back and arms.

***

"Now that," Steve panted, "was mind-blowing sex."

Tony laughed and pulled the man up for another kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for being a day late!

Steve was awoken by the sharp ring of his phone alarm, which he quickly reached out to shut off. He sighed when he saw the numbers 0300 blaring at him in the dark room, a sharp contrast to the warm feeling of sleeping in his comfortable bed with his husband wrapped around him like an octopus.

The man tried his hardest to remove Tony without waking him, but with the engineer’s head resting on his chest, it was a lost cause.

“Mmm,” Tony groaned, still mostly asleep, burying his face deeper into his husband’s pec.

“Tony, I need you to let go,” Steve chuckled and began stroking his fingers through the man’s hair.

“No. I changed my mind,” Tony muttered. “The army doesn’t get my bed warmer when he’s so fucking comfy.”

With a loud and clear laugh, Steve asked, “Is that all I am to you?”

“Yup,” Tony sighed. “Your good looks are only a bonus.”

Steve laughed again and kissed the man’s head. I really need to get up now Tony, the car is gonna be here any time now.

“Alright, alright,” he conceded, removing himself from the other man. 

Silently, Steve began getting dressed, his uniform ready to go on the settee. When, at last, he got to his tie, he saw it missing from the garment bag, he looked up to ask Tony if he had seen it when he stopped mid-word.

His husband was standing in front of him, completely nude and holding Steve’s military issued tie. 

“Let me?” Tony asked quietly.

Steve gave a small smile and nodded, then stepped closer to the other man. 

The two once again stood in silence, the motion of Tony tying the knot seemed like a sort of meditation, an acknowledgement of things unspoken and accepted. When Tony pressed the perfectly tied tie flat against Steve’s chest, the soldier took the hand in his and brought it to his lips.

“I’ll miss you,” Steve murmured against Tony’s knuckles.

The engineer exhaled sharply and closed his eyes.

“You come back to me, you hear?” Tony forced out, his voice surprisingly steady. “You come back and you do it as soon as you can.”

“Yes, sir,” Steve muttered, before kissing the ring that adorned Tony’s left hand. 

The shorter man pulled the soldier in for a breathtaking hug, his breath hitching slightly. “I’ve never had to do this before,” he whispered. “I’ve never had to sit here and wait not knowing when you’ll return, not knowing —”

“Hey,” Steve interrupted, “what happened to not saying goodbye?” he joked.

With a humourless laugh, Tony stepped back and stared into his husband’s bluer than blue eyes. “You’re right. You’re right! Now,” he pushed his shoulders back and held his chin up tall. “Where’s my kiss soldier?”

Steve smiled and kissed the love of his life as deep as he possibly could, hoping to convey every molecule of love he held for the other man.

When the men pulled away, Tony rested his head on Steve’s chest, panting slightly. “Ah, there it is.”

Steve squeezed the man in his arms once more before pulling away slowly. “Tony, it’s time for me to go now.”

“Alright,” Tony blinked away tears then, pushing away his feelings with well-practiced ease, gave an easy smile. “I’ll see ya later, yeah?”

Steve returned his husband’s fake smile with a sad one of his own. “Yeah, love, see ya later. I love you with all my heart, you know that right?”

“Yeah, I know. Me too.”

* * *

Breakfast just a few hours later was met with tired and sombre faces

“Did Papa leave already?” Clint asked, rubbing his eyes with a loose fist.

“Yup,” Tony sighed, placing a plate of waffles on the table. “The sun wasn’t even up yet. He told me to tell you that he’s going to miss you, and that he loves you with all his heart.” The man finished by placing a hand on Nat’s shoulder and looking down at his children. 

“Hey, I miss your Papa too, but we can’t just be sad the entire time he’s gone, right?”

The kids shrugged in response around their plates.

“Tell you what, how about we make tonight a movie night, eh? Everyone should be home by six tonight, so I’ll order some pizza and we’ll just hang out. How does that sound?” Tony tried to cheer them up, but was met with half-formed smiles and slow nods.

“Alright then.” A little lost, the man took his place at the table and watched the others begin their breakfast, which compared to their normal high energy catastrophe, was almost lethargic in pace. “I know we talked about all this before, but since Papa’s gone, Thor is going to be driving all of you to school, so I expect all of you to be extra nice to him when he’s driving. Nat and Clint, I’ll be the one picking you up after practice, so just wait by the door and I’ll be there right after I pick up Sam from his book club, okay? And since football season is over, Thor is going to pick up Dean and Loki after school. Lunches are on the counter and labelled accordingly, if I got anything wrong, please text it to me so I can remember for tomorrow. Everyone know the plan?”

Again, the children made faces and movements of affirmation very halfheartedly, then continued with their meal.

With a sigh, the engineer picked up his coffee mug and silently prayed to all the gods he didn’t believe in to bring his husband back as quickly as possible.


	9. Chapter 9

“Captain Rogers, sir,” an armed officer greeted him on the tarmac the moment he stepped off the plane.

“It’s Stark now,” Steve corrected, taking in the desert landscaping surrounding him, already missing the lush green fields of outer New York.

“Apologies, Captain. Follow me.”

The fact that the man didn’t  _ actually _ correct his name wasn’t lost on the captain. He’d resolved himself for facing homophobia once back on the army base, but not so quickly.

Following the officer through the base, he noticed none of the surroundings, they were the same dull grey he’d spent years in, once upon a time, he had no desire to dredge up  _ those _ particular memories.

“Right in here, Captain,” the offer paused in front of a door labelled “Officer’s Only” and saluted before returning the way they came. 

Taking a moment for himself, Steve took a breath, squared his shoulders and pushed open the door.

“Rogers!” The cry was loud and boisterous, hardly becoming of the military positions the men held. Steve was suddenly surrounded by old faces and caught in the embrace of the men who at one point in his life, were his only family.

“Morita, Jones, Falsworth!” Steve hugged the men back fiercely, a smile wide on his face.

“Don’t forget the sorry sack you left these degenerates to,” a gruff voice called from the front of the room. 

There, sitting at the council room table, sat ‘Dum Dum’ Dugan, now Captain Dugan after Steve’s retirement. 

“Dum Dum,” Steve sighed, then briskly made his way to embrace the man.

“Hey, that’s  _ Captain _ Dum Dum to you!” the man laughed into the hug.

“Then I suppose I should correct you too,” Steve retorted. “It’s not Rogers anymore.”

“Right! Sorry, Cap,” Gabe Jones clapped Steve’s shoulder in camaraderie. “Heard you got hitched to the billionaire’s kid!”

“No,” Steve laughed, “I married the  _ billionaire, genius, philanthropist _ . His father was inconsequential.”

“Alright, we can catch up later,” General Philips commanded, entering the room quietly, holding a pile of folders. “Everyone sit.”

The men immediately found their seats after the customary salutes. Steve glanced around the table, only time and a few men separated this meeting from dozens of others pulling at the edge of his memory.

“Alright men,” the general started. “There’s one of ours in there. He’s amongst countless other prisoners and surrounded by the enemy.

“Who’s ready to get our people back?”

* * *

The first couple of days at the Stark household without Steve went like clockwork. Tony had a mental chart of every child and logistics and check-ins were systematically calculated to be as efficient as possible. All in all, the man was  _ very _ pleased to call himself a genius.

“Okay!” The man called out over the dull roar of the breakfast table. “Today’s gameplan: Thor drives everyone to school, I’ll pick up Sam and Clint for therapy, and Thor has practice tonight so Dean and Loki, you’ll have to wait at the school until Thor’s done and can pick you and Nat up after her rehearsal. Bruce, wait for Thor in Papa’s old office and he’ll text you when he’s ready to leave campus. Any questions?”

He took the silence and shrugs as a negative. “Alright, Dad’s a genius on three! One, two —”

The day went as planned. Unfortunately, this meant that Tony received a call in the middle of Clint’s session from the high school.

“They did what?” he exclaimed into the receiver, earning a concerned and somewhat angry look from the receptionist. “Alright, uh, I can’t come get them right now, I’ll— Okay, I understand. I’ll work it out.”

Why.

“Is everything okay, dad?” Sam asked, looking up from his homework.

“Yeah, kiddo, I just gotta go pick up the others a little earlier than planned.” The gears in Tony’s head were spinning, figuring out the best route to go about it. 

“Excuse me, ma’am,” he called out to the receptionist as he approached the desk. “Something just came up with a couple of my other kids and one of my sons is in a session right now and the other is about to go in for his in like 15 minutes. Any chance I can leave them here while I pick up the other two?”

The woman gave a small smile and shook her head. “I’m sorry sir, but it’s a policy that children are to be attended to at all times, it’s the building and the doctor’s policy.”

“Fuck,” Tony swore under his breath, then returned to his seat, mind working away again. He called the high school.

“Hi, this is Tony Stark, we— yeah, exactly. Look, I can’t come myself, but— what? Are you serious? Come on, I single-handedly funded the new dance and science department! Fine, but I am writing a strongly worded email to the superintendent!” The man huffed, ending the call. 

“Dad?” Sam’s homework was long forgotten. “What’s going on? Is Dean okay?”

“Yeah, sport, Dean is fine. He and Loki had a disagreement and now the school won’t let them leave without a parent. They also stressed the fact that the sooner I get them, the better,” Tony ran a hand through his hair, sighing heavily.

“It’s okay, dad. I can skip my session today,” Sam said, already packing his bags. 

“No, Sam,” Tony gave the boy a pointed look. “Dr. Mills told us you’re very good at hiding things, so I’m not comfortable letting you skip today, especially since she drives in especially to see you and Dean.”

Running through scenarios in his head, he scrunched up his face and groaned for the only solution that presented itself. He unlocked his phone once more and dialled.

“Thor?”

* * *

The last bell of the day rang loudly, followed by teens filling the hallways, excited to head home. Dean took his sweet time gathering his (mostly empty) notebook and shoving books into his locker. Once most of the student population was either gone or in various after school activities, he made his way to the front of the school to sit on the front steps and soak in the new spring sunshine.

The teen dropped his bag, took off his overshirt and rolled up the short sleeves to the white tee underneath before dropping onto the concrete steps and closing his eyes. 

It wasn’t long until Dean heard the front door open behind him. Tensing slightly, he used the tools his father gave him to assess the potential threat without making the intruder aware. 

The temperature dropped slightly, but early spring brings cool breezes.

Sound: quiet footfalls, most likely a student.

Smell: the wind was blowing in the opposite direction, car exhaust from the parking lot.

Sixth Sense: annoyance.

“Hey, Loki,” Dean called out, keeping his eyes closed and his face directed at the sunlight.

“Why are you sitting on the ground?” the other teen asked.

“‘Cuz it’s easier to suntan this way?” Dean retorted. “You should try it sometime, might get your skin to stop glowing with how pale you are.”

“I’m ‘pale’ because I spend my time improving my brains. Unlike yourself, I’d like to get somewhere someday,” Loki sassed, rolling his eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dean bristled.

“Oh, right, I forgot who I was talking to for a moment,” the other teen replied sarcastically. “I have a chance to make something of myself, whereas you’re going to be stuck in a small town mechanic shop living paycheck to paycheck and paying either alimony or child support, or, hey, maybe even both if you’re ambitious.”

“The hell is your problem?!” Dean shouted, jumping up and facing his adoptive brother, who was leaning carelessly against a railing in his long-sleeved hoodie underneath a designer winter jacket. 

“No problem, I thought you knew how pathetic you were,” Loki furrowed his brow as if he were concerned. “Did you truly not know?”

“We have been  _ endlessly _ nice to you, we’ve put up with your  _ shit _ hoping that you would, I don’t know, behave like a  _ fucking human being _ for long enough!” Dean’s heart was racing in his chest, the blood rushing in his ears and fists curled to strike.

The older boy simply clicked his tongue in sympathy. “Aw, the pauper’s finally ready to admit he’s not a prince. Well, I suppose that when you’re common trailer—”

Dean didn’t even feel his knuckles bruising, but he sure saw the blood that stained them.


	10. Chapter 10

The car ride back to the Stark house was… tense. Tony arrived at the school, signed the form the secretary gave and, after assessing the damage for himself, had the two teens follow him wordlessly to the car.

The entire trip was in silence. The radio was off and there even seemed to be a chill in the air, despite the AC being off.

Every attempt at conversation or explanation was thrown away with a single finger from the driver’s seat indicating quiet. After the car was parked, Tony clutched the steering wheel tightly and took a bracing breath.

“I want you to get cleaned up and meet in Steve’s office in 20 minutes. Understood?” he said quietly, then, without waiting for confirmation, made his way through the garage towards the house. 

He needed to think. How would he and Steve have handled this? Who’s part did he have to play today? How was  _ he _ supposed to be two parents?

The man made himself a coffee as he listened to the boys quietly make their way up the stairs, then followed to end up in his husband’s office. He left the door open and sat behind the desk, playing how the discussion would go in his mind. Eventually, the boys found themselves sitting in front of the desk, waiting for the man to speak at last.

Tony took a long sip of his coffee and sighed. “Alright. What happened?”

Both boys immediately started talking over each other, complete with wild hand gestures and more than one accusing finger.

The man held up a hand and the room fell silent once more.

“One at a time please.”

“Well,” Loki began, side-eying the other teen. “I had seen Dean sitting on the front steps and thought I’d join him. During our conversation, he just started attacking me!” 

The raven-haired teen brought a hand up to his swollen nose and winced, tears pooling up in his eyes.

Dean, on the other hand, gripped the arms of his chair and took a steadying breath. “Why don’t you tell him what it was you  _ said _ ,” he prompted.

“I think you’ll find that violence is never the answer, despite the circumstances,” Loki huffed. 

“Loki,” Tony interrupted, “what  _ did _ you say?”

“I spoke nothing but the truth.”

“You fucking  _ dick _ ,” Dean screeched and jumped out of his chair. Every muscle was tense on the teen’s frame, shaking slightly in anger as he glared at the other boy. 

Tony immediately set down his mug and raced to get between the two boys. “Alright, maybe getting you in here together wasn’t the best idea,” he admitted. “Loki, you stay here. I’ll be back soon. Dean, come on, you’re gonna blow off some steam.” 

The man led the way from the office, making sure Dean was, in fact, following him. The pair silently made their way to the gym where Tony tossed the teen the boxing tape to prep his hands for the punching bag.

Dean caught the tape easily and quietly began the methodical process of wrapping it around his hands.

“Okay,” Tony started, leaning against the wall. “Tell me what happened.”

With a frustrated tear of the tape, Dean gave a huff of anger and threw the tape to the ground. “Does it matter? You’re not gonna do anything about it.”

“Why do you think that, Dean?” Tony asked, his eyebrows furled in concern.

“Because you didn’t  _ see _ it!” Dean shouted and punched the bag once. “Isn’t that what you said last time? You can’t do anything because you didn’t actually  _ see _ it?”

“Sport, I know this is confusing and frustrating, but you could’ve broken his nose today. I need to know what he said, because I need to know if you’re okay.”

The two fell silent, the only sound in the room was the steady thump of fists on the bag.

“He-” Dean stopped, still hitting furiously.

“He…”

“He just said the truth, okay?” 

“What specifically did he say?”

“He-he just said that I was gonna end up in a small town, being a mechanic or some shit. Told me I wouldn’t amount to much, which isn’t a lie.” The teen gave a final swing, then collapsed on the floor in a heap. “He called me pathetic and fucking-he  _ tried _ to call me trailer trash. Again.”

The two fell quiet once again. 

In the silence, Tony’s mind was both stunned and working at top speed to try to salvage the situation.

“Dean, buddy,” the man moved to sit next to the boy. “Is that what you think? Is that how you view yourself?”

He received a half-hearted shrug in response.

“Oh, Dean.” Tony sighed. “Can I hug you?”

Dean bristled slightly.

“That’s okay, bud. Nothing you’re not comfortable with,” the man responded instantly. “Can you at least look at me?”

Without lifting his head, the teen raised his eyes to watch his adoptive father through his lashes.

“Can I tell you what I see when I look at you?”

Another shrug.

“I see a dedicated, loyal and incredible young man, filled with so much love he would do anything to protect those that need it, especially his younger siblings,” Tony tried to instill as much sincerity he had into the words, full-heartedly believing every one. 

Dean’s gaze fell to the floor once more.

“Have you read the letter that Sam wrote you for your birthday yet?”

The teen shook his head.

“I think you should,” Tony suggested quietly, then stood up. “Are you alright, sport?”

Dean nodded and started unwrapping the sweat-covered tape slowly.

“Alright, I’m going to go talk to Loki now, but you’re both grounded for two weeks, got it? Unfortunately, he’s right that violence is never the answer, no matter what he said.” 

Before leaving, the man crouched in front of his son and caught his eye once more. “If you need me, please don’t hesitate to ask, okay? And please read that letter.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!! Have some escapism from the terrifying world outside!  
> Also, just a heads up that I'm going on vacation next week so there will be a brief hiatus before the next chapter!!

My Dearest,

It’s only been a week but I fucking miss you.

The kids are doing fine, they miss you too, of course, but none of their therapists are reporting anything new so…. At least there’s that.

Dean and Loki had a… disagreement, let’s say, today. I had to call Thor home early from football practice to stay with Clint and Sam while I picked them up from school. When I saw them, my fucking heart stopped. They were both covered in blood. But don’t worry! The only casualty was a bruised nose and a VERY strained relationship snapping….

Fuck I miss you. I have no idea how to handle this. Of course, they're both grounded. And suspended. Ugh, I’m gonna have to deal with them in the same house for two days by myself. 

But enough of my pity party, I’m doing great! I figured out how to poop unicorns and sell leprechauns! Seriously, don’t worry about us! Focus everything you got into bringing home your kids' new uncle!

You’re doing something incredible and I love you for it. Your heart and your sense of duty are two of the main reasons I married you and I’m so happy to see it in action.

Counting down the days until you come back.

I love you. I miss you. 

Your Love Bug,

Tony

Steve stared at the letter with a smile of pure adoration as he traced the handwritten letters with his fingertips.

“Oi, Cap, what’s ya got there? Racy pictures of the ball and chain?” Morita called out from across the table. 

Two weeks in and Steve couldn’t believe how much his heart physically hurt with longing for his family.

“Just a letter,” he replied, carefully folding it back up.

“With that smile? Nah, there’s something scandalous in there, I just know it,” Falsworth laughed, sitting down next to him with a full tray of breakfast.

“You haven’t met Tony yet, the papers used to call him ‘scandalous’ every few days,” Steve laughed back.

“Well? Don’t keep us in suspense, what did the guy say?” Morita nudged the captain with his foot under the table. “We haven’t been on leave for a while, let us live vicariously through your boring marital sex life.”

Steve’s booming laugh filled the small room, the sound causing his teammates to smile in return. After the mission where they lost Bucky, they thought they’d never hear that laugh again.

“Firstly, it is anything but ‘boring’,” Steve began, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. “Secondly, I don’t really think you wanna hear about our gay sex.”

“Well, when you put it like that, we absolutely do!” Falsworth exclaimed, attempting to reach for the letter still folded on the table.

Steve blocked him and put the letter in his breast pocket. “Trust me, there’s nothing other than talk about the kids in here. But seriously, I really doubt you wanna hear about douching.”

“The fuck is that?” Morita asked, leaning closer.

Steve rolled his eyes and groaned.

* * *

After writing another letter to his husband, Tony had a mental list of things he needed to do, starting with making dinner and the kid's lunches, and ending with check-ups for Thor and Sam.

What he wasn’t planning on doing was taking an impromptu nap on his desk and waking up four hours later with a stiff neck and panic pumping through his veins.

Sleeping without Steve was nothing short of torture, and the engineer had his fair share of torture throughout his life. And then there were the nightmares when he did manage to sleep at all.

The man was running on caffeine and less than three hours of sleep a night since the other man left. 

“Kids,” Tony mumbled, shaking the last of the nightmare off of him and he stumbled towards the lab door.

He didn’t know what he expected, but a quiet house, a clean kitchen and a plate full of spaghetti with a note saying “Tony” was not it.

“ _Tony_.” It had to be Dean’s writing. Loki still called him Mr. Stark, despite multiple reminders otherwise, and the others called him Dad. So Dean had made everyone supper. Awesome. Now Tony just had to make the lunches. Thor and Sam were undoubtedly in bed already.

The man went scouring for the lunch bags, but couldn’t find them anywhere. Until that is, he took a break from searching and opened the fridge. There, exactly where they should be at this time of night, were every kid's lunch bag ready to go.

_Huh._

After a moment of pure shock, Tony placed his plate in the microwave and watched it spin. He thought about how wonderful his found family really was, and how much he couldn’t wait until things went back to normal.

The next morning, Tony had breakfast ready to go as usual.

“Hey everyone, I’m really sorry I fell asleep last night and didn’t make dinner for you,” he started, placing a hand on Dean’s shoulder as he spoke. “But I guess you all fought for yourselves?”

“Dean makes really good spaghetti, dad!” Clint commented through his mouthful of waffles.

“He used to make it a lot for me when our dad would leave, so he had lots of practice,” Sam pitched in.

“Well, thank you, Dean,” Tony squeezed the teen’s shoulder softly. “I really appreciate it. And who made your lunches? I hope you didn’t all make your own,” he said, pointedly mock glaring at Clint, who had once tried to bring nothing but candy to school.

“Dean made those too,” Nat spoke quietly. “He said he finished them before dinner was done.”

Dean had his head as close to his plate as he possibly could, avoiding eye contact with the rest of the room.

“Well then, thank you again, Dean,” Tony began rubbing the boy’s shoulder lightly. “You really saved my butt last night.”

The teen just shrugged and went back to eating.

 _And thus the day went on like any other,_ Tony thought to himself as he watched his kids resume their early morning banter.


	12. Chapter 12

Tony had hoped that his little slip up would be a one-time thing, and he would go back to being super dad. He’d juggled being the CEO and CDO while being drunk and high every day for over a decade. He could keep track of all his kids and their appointments and practices, right?

Wrong. 

The man’s mental calendar got more and more muddled from last-minute changes to continuous lack of sleep until he resorted to keeping an actual  _ physical _ calendar. Things kept getting pushed to the side and postponed, and Tony had to rely on Thor driving his siblings around more than once, along with continued apologizes to his oldest for placing the responsibility on his shoulders.

A couple of times, Tony had to call in his old driver (now head of security) Happy to pick someone up from a practice or rehearsal. 

Throughout his slow downward spiral, Tony wrote letters to his husband every day, not yet receiving any back from the man. Steve had warned him that outgoing mail would be slow, but Tony really just wanted to hear from him, by voice, text, or otherwise, just to give him a little more motivation to keep going.

The kids were a blessing, in Tony’s mind. They had caught on to Tony’s stress and offered to cut down on extracurriculars or take public transportation to ease the burden. Dean even offered to stop going to therapy, (which Tony immediately shut down.) Tony refused.

The one thing he did accept, was that the lunches were being packed before Tony could get the chance. He didn’t love that he couldn’t do it all, but he accepted the reality quietly and thanked his lucky stars that he had an extra half hour every day.

The kids were also arguing a lot less, or at least, figuring out their disagreements on their own. Tony had had to calm down Bruce a couple of times in the past few weeks, but other than the occasional “you’re touching my stuff”, he hadn’t had to break anything up or have a serious talk to anybody.

He wasn’t sure how to feel about that one.

* * *

Dean zipped up the last of the lunch kits and placed it in the fridge, nodding to himself as he surveyed the complete job. 

Tony needed help. Dean decided to do so.

The teen had been packing everyone’s lunches since Tony fell behind. It was the least he could do. He was also paying special attention to Sam and Clint, to make sure that they didn’t bother Tony with anything that would add to his already full plate. Although he wasn’t great at it, he helped the two with homework and settled their petty arguments over the gaming systems. 

Dean was sure that the others knew what he was doing but decided not to comment or help out. Besides, it was Dean’s job to take care of his younger brothers.

He was tired. He was always tired these days. But the little smile Tony gave him across the dinner table and the sincere ‘sweet dreams’ that followed him up the stairs before bed filled him with such warmth, he didn’t even consider stopping his extra duties.

* * *

“You’re quiet today, Dean,” Dr. Mills remarked, only to be met with a shrug. “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Get out of my head.”

“As soon as you start being open about what’s in it, gladly,” the therapist smirked. The two remained silent as they waited for the teen to speak.

“Jody, do you...do you think that my...that John was a good dad?” Dean finally whispered, eyes trained on the pillow in his lap. 

The woman sighed and set down her notepad, taking her time to collect her thoughts. “I think you know that I’m uniquely qualified to answer that question, Dean,” she paused and made sure to catch the teen’s eye before continuing. “I also think that’s why you asked me. I knew your dad as a good man. A stubborn and headstrong man, but good nonetheless. After talking to you and your brother, I can say that John loved you very much and did the best he knew how.”

Dean closed his eyes and dropped his head once more. After a moment, the boy spoke again. “That didn't answer my question.”

“No. It didn’t,” Jody conceded. 

“Well?” Dean asked, pleading eyes trained on the therapist. 

With another sigh, the woman answered. “No, Dean. No, he wasn’t. He certainly wasn’t the worst, and he still loved you and Sam, but in my opinion: no. He wasn’t a good dad.”

Silence.

“But...but he didn’t hit us or touch us wrong, and he always left money for us when he left — ”

“He didn’t need to hit you or touch you, Dean,” Dr. Mills interrupted. “From what you’ve told me, he didn’t need to use anything other than his words. He trained you, whereas a good father would only love you.”

“He trained me  _ because _ he loved me!” Dean suddenly shouted.

“Why don’t you tell me why you felt the need to ask, then,” Jody gestured to the boy and leaned back in her seat.

“Because I — I,” he stopped, gaze returning to the pillow. “I don’t know.”

“Can I tell you what I think?” 

“Don’t you always?”

Jody smiled. “Only when I think you’re ready to hear it.”

Dean rolled his eyes and flopped down onto his side on the couch and covered his face with the pillow, before nodding.

“I think you’ve been feeling guilty for maybe loving Steve and Tony more than John,” she stated.

“What?” The teen shot back up. “How dare you! John was my father!”

“So are Steve and Tony,” Jody pointed out.

“Well, yeah, but they didn’t raise me — ”

“John didn’t either. You raised yourself. And Sam”

“I — You — You — ” Dean sputtered.

“Am I wrong?” the woman asked with an eyebrow raised.

The room plunged back into silence.

“I don’t want to rush you if you’re not ready, but have you read that letter from Sam yet?” Jody asked, already knowing the answer.

Dean huffed and shook his head no.

“Dean, our time is ending, but I want you to think about why you asked that question today, maybe try to read that letter, and we’ll revisit this next week, okay?” Dr. Mills said, picking up her notepad once more and began writing into it.

“Whatever,” Dean responded and stomped his way out of the room, slamming the door behind him.


	13. Chapter 13

_ Dean. _

_ I don’t really know how to write letters, but I’m gonna do my best. I didn’t know what to get you for your birthday, nothing really seemed right, ya know? So I asked Dr. Mills and she suggested this.  _

_ REASONS DEAN IS THE BEST BIG BROTHER- _

Dean folded the paper again quickly. No. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t read a list of lies that his own brother tried to sell him.

He glanced at the clock on his nightstand. 3:17 am.

Stupid Dr. Mills, having to put the stupid idea in his head. Dean had been able to forget about the measly piece of paper for almost three months now, even when Tony had brought it up, he denied reading it immediately. 

So why did he feel like he needed to read it now?

Dean strained his eyes in the darkness to see the dark lump that was his little brother sound asleep just a few feet away.

_ Would Sammy really lie? _

He lied to all the psychologists and police and easily fooled them all.

_ Would he really lie to  _ Dean _? _

Mustering up his resolve, Dean once again opened the letter and trained the flashlight on his phone to read the scribbled words.

_ Dean. _

_ I don’t really know how to write letters, but I’m gonna do my best. I didn’t know what to get you for your birthday, nothing really seemed right, ya know? So I asked Dr. Mills and she suggested this.  _

_ REASONS DEAN IS THE BEST BIG BROTHER: _

_ I always had dinner, even when you didn’t. _

_ You protected me when Dad was in a mood. I can’t count how many times you told me to pretend to be asleep when he got in from a hunt, or you got in between us during an argument. _

_ You traded your favourite comic book to get me new shoes when I grew out of mine. (Yes, I know about that.) _

_ You always had something to give me on my birthday or Christmas, even when Dad wasn’t there or he forgot. _

_ You make me smile when I want to cry. _

_ You kept me from knowing that the people who fostered us abused you. (Don’t you ever do that again.) _

_ You take care of me. _

_ I don’t know what it’s like to be scared of someone that’s supposed to protect me. _

_ You lied to me for years to keep dad’s ‘real job’ a secret. So I could sleep at night. _

_ You knew my favourite book before I did. _

_ You make sure I do my homework and keep my grades up so that I can go to college someday and make something of myself. _

_ You love me. _

_ You make me feel safe. _

_ I know we have two new dads, but even if we didn’t, I wouldn't need them. _

_ I have you. That’s all I’ll ever need. _

_ Sam _

Dean tore his eyes away from the paper and once again looked at the sleeping boy, his vision slightly impaired both due to the darkness of the room and the water now threatening to spill from the teen’s eyes.

_ ‘You make me feel safe.’ _

Dean did that. He couldn’t protect Sam from the life completely, but he made him feel  _ safe _ regardless.

Wiping his eyes, Dean folded the letter back up and settled himself back into his sheets, his resolve strengthening to do everything in his power for his little brothers. 

* * *

  
  


The next couple of days, Dean not only made the lunches but started prepping dinner too, leaving Tony instructions and cut-up portions ready to go.

He had also started slacking in school to do so. The scant amount of schoolwork he was already doing was now nonexistent and he took class time as extra time to catch up on his beauty sleep after being awake almost the entire night because of nightmares. 

His teachers were beginning to give him disappointed looks and one had already sent a note home with express instructions to give it to Tony. Dean promptly threw it out. 

The teen was adamant that Tony would not have to bother with him while juggling everything else.

This included staying far away from Loki. Dean took Natasha’s advice and just ignored the quips and jabs the other made, though anger bubbled up under his skin every time. It was only the thought of pleasing Tony that kept Dean from giving the other teen another bloody nose, though he knew it was only a matter of time until he knew he would explode. 

Such a day came.

Tony had gone to take Natasha to a ballet rehearsal, leaving the other six males alone in the mansion. Dean thought it would be easy for them to avoid each other, but apparently everyone was hungry at the same time and they gathered in the kitchen for a late snack.

“Ugh,” sneered Loki. “I guess  _ you _ ate all the leftover lasagne, Thor? Couldn’t leave any for the rest of us mortals, could you? You just  _ had _ to-”

“Hey!” Sam interrupted. “That’s so rude!”

Loki rolled his eyes in response. “Was I talking to you, little person?”

“Well, no,” the boy furled his brows in thought. “But you’re both my brothers, and I don’t want you to keep being mean to him!”

“Mean?” the teen laughed.

Dean closed his eyes and tried to fight down the rage building inside him. He began to usher Sam away, slightly pulling on the boy’s shirt to get him to leave.

“Just because I’m not naive doesn’t mean I’m  _ mean _ ,” Loki responded finally.

“Well you’re being real mean right now, and I’m sick of it!”

Dean pulled on the boy’s shirt a little harder, but Sam merely brushed him off.

“Ugh. No wonder your father got himself killed. I’d do the same if I were stuck with _ you _ for so long,” Loki scoffed. 

The room went silent, everyone holding their breath to see how the boy would react. 

Sam’s face, stunned at first, fell. At the slightest quiver in his brother’s lip, Dean surged forward. 

“How  _ DARE  _ you!” the teen shouted, intent on wiping the smug smirk off Loki’s face. However, Thor reacted as well and restrained the furious teen. “Let me go!” Dean screamed, hitting the adult’s arm. 

“Not until you calm yourself, young warrior,” Thor said steadily. “What he said was inexcusable, but violence is not the answer.”

“It feels like a pretty good answer right now!” Dean struggled, eyes still trained on the stupid smirk. 

At that moment, the garage door swung open and Natasha and Tony walked into the house. 

“What the fu-“ Tony ran a hand over his face and leaned against the doorframe, emitting the air of a truly exhausted man. “You know what? No. I don’t want to deal with this right now. Everyone to their rooms. Right now. I’ll figure this out after everyone cools down.”

Dean ignored the man and tried once more to escape Thor’s grasp. 

“We will let Dad deal with him, your priority right now should be to your brother,” Thor replied. 

“Screw that ‘we’re all family’ shit. Let me murder him!”

“I meant Sam.”

Dean, panting heavily at the exertion used to try and escape the man, glanced at his little brother. Sam had his arms wrapped around his stomach and his head hanging low, his bangs were covering his face. Sammy was crying. 

“You’re right, I’ll kill him later,” Dean pushed Thor’s arms away easily this time as the man let him comfort his brother. 

“Sammy. Sam are you okay?” Dean asked, crouching in front of the boy. 

“Is he right?” 

Dean steadied himself with a deep breath. 

“Of course not, Sammy. You know that dad loved you.”

“Did he?” The boy looked through his hair with wet, pleading eyes. “He never said it. The only time he ever even  _ touched _ me was after that time I almost died, and he was always gone, and — “ 

“Hey. That doesn’t mean he didn’t love you,” Dean brushed back his brother’s hair to look him in the eye. “Dad was… not the best father,” it took everything in him to admit it, but once the words were out, the reality of the statement came crashing down. 

“He made us do things that normal kids wouldn’t even think about! He left us for days or even weeks at a time, and that had nothing to do with you and everything to do with him.” 

Dean watched as tears started to fall down the boy’s face. 

“He left us, Sammy. He made the choice to put something else in front of his kids and that was  _ not  _ okay,” the teen was gripping both Sam’s arm and neck tightly, needing to ground himself to something. 

“Papa left too!” Sam insisted, tears still flowing. 

“He and Bucky are like brothers, Sam. If we were in the same situation, there is nothing in the world that could keep me from trying to rescue you. Natasha would do the same for Clint, and hell, Loki’s an ass but Thor would still move heaven and earth to save him.” Dean brushed Sam’s hair back once more before continuing. “Steve didn’t leave because of us, and especially not because of you, Sammy. We were the only reason he didn’t leave sooner.”

“But dad — “

“Forget about dad! We have a new dad now! And  _ this _ dad isn’t going to bury his emotions so deep down that we doubt that he loves us!” Dean took his eyes off Sam for the first time and blinked furiously to avoid his own tears falling. “ _ This _ dad cares so much about his family that he fights with himself every day not to drink. John  _ never _ even  _ tried  _ to do that!

“So, yeah, Sam. Dad loved you, so much. But Tony? Steve?  _ These _ dads love us more than anything in the world.”

Sam couldn’t take it any longer and tackled his brother in a hug, breathing heavily and letting his tears soak into the teen’s shirt. Dean squeezed back tightly, holding the boy as close as he could, rubbing his back soothingly and just letting the boy cry. 

Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. During their talk, the room emptied except for Tony, leaning in the archway. The man gave an exhausted smile and a thumbs up.  _ Take all the time you need _ , he mouthed, then snuck away without a sound.

Dean nodded and closed his eyes, and just held his brother for everything he was worth.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologizes for the unintentional hiatus! Back to our regularly scheduled programming!

“The  _ fuck _ man?” Dean whispered. After Dean had made sure Sam was okay, the teen left him in their room and snuck into the Loki’s room while Tony was still talking to Thor down the hall.

Loki simply rolled his eyes and continued throwing a cup into the air and catching it.

“Really? You’re not even gonna explain yourself?” Dean sneered, throwing a book at the other boy. Loki caught the book easily and narrowed his eyes. 

“ _ Never _ throw something at me again.”

“Well  _ tough _ ! Never make my brother cry again and we’ll call it even!” 

“Whatever.”

“No! Not whatever!” Dean snapped.

“He needs to know how the world works. That life isn’t sunshine and rainbows-”

“He’s eleven!” Dean shouted. “He’s still upset that his fucking  _ Hogwarts letter _ never came! Let him believe in whatever he fucking wants to! Especially about this fucked up world!”

“And what would  _ you _ know about the  _ fucked up world _ ,” Loki laughed, continuing to ignore the boy.

“Look, I get it, your dad almost beat you to death, and yeah, that fucking sucks, but it has nothing to do with Sam. So lay off being a dick for one fucking day!” the teen shouted.

Sitting up slowly, Loki glared at the boy. “You have no idea what I’ve been through.”

“And you have no idea what I’ve done to protect Sam,” Dean warned.

“What, did you go hungry a couple of times?” Loki sneered. 

There was a flurry of motion and Dean found himself pining the older teen to the wall. “You have  _ no idea _ what it’s like to give up  _ everything _ you are to protect someone else,” he whispered, watching Loki’s eyes fill with veiled fear. “To deliberately put yourself in harm's way to make sure that your little brother knows nothing of the horrors of the world. I’ve seen more monsters than you could even  _ dream _ of, so when I tell you to  _ stop being a dick _ , know that I can take a hell of a lot, but  _ leave Sam alone _ .”

Loki was still as Dean stared him in the eye.

“He called me his brother,” Loki whispered.

“And? He calls Thor and Clint his brothers too,” Dean pointed out.

“You don’t understand. I can’t be his brother. I can’t be anyone’s brother, I — ”

“Well suck it up, your majesty, you’re stuck with us whether you like it or not.”

“No, you don’t — ”

“What about Thor? You’re just gonna forget about him?” 

“Thor shouldn’t have protected me!” Loki spat. “If it wasn’t for me, he would still have his parents in a life full of luxury and not  _ forced to leave his country _ — ”

“Woah,” Dean interrupted. “Thor was protecting you. It is  _ not  _ your fault that all those things happened, it’s your dad’s.”

“No! No, it’s mine!” Loki’s voice cracked and hung his head in shame. “Our mother was killed because my birth father figured out I was his and she didn’t tell him! Odin only started beating me because I threatened to out the secret, I — ”

“ _ None _ of that is your fault, Loki.” Dean relaxed his hold on the teen, rubbing his hands up and down his arms in an attempt to comfort him. Although Loki was older than him, he was still a little brother that needed the wisdom and guidance of an older brother.

“It is!”

“ _ No _ ! It isn’t — ”

“Thor was waiting for me for six years — ”

“Because you were in the hospital — ”

“I lied!” Loki shouted. 

Dean froze. “What do you mean, you lied?”

Loki took a shaky breath and slid down the wall to crouch on the floor. “My last operation was two years ago.”

“What?” Dean asked, confused. “But, you and Mr. Coulson said — ”

“We lied. My birth father was fighting for custody of me, that’s why it took so long,” the teen admitted. “He… is not a good man. He told me he wanted me to take over his ‘empire’, and his temper was rival that of Odin’s. I didn’t want to go with him, so Mr. Coulson made sure I didn’t. My father wasn’t one to let go of the matter, however, and fought us at every turn.”

“So why did you lie?” Dean asked, sitting on the floor across from the teen. 

“I didn’t want to worry Thor. I got Mr. Coulson to promise not to tell him either, which meant lying to Tony and Steve too.”

“Okay, that wasn’t the  _ best _ thing to do, but you were doing it out of love, so why don’t you think you’re a good brother?”

“I  _ can’t _ be!”

“Oh,” Dean’s eyebrows sprang up in realization. “You’re a dick on purpose. You think you’re unworthy of love, so you do your best to make sure no one can love you.”

Loki’s breath stopped and his eyes locked on Dean. 

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Dean asked, cautiously.

“I — no one ever — ” Loki sputtered, breathing harder and heavier.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, keep breathing, that’s it,” Dean talked slowly and calmly, imitating what Steve did for him when he had a similar panic attack all those months ago. Once Loki was breathing somewhat steadily again, he put his head between his knees.

“All my life, I’ve never been a  _ person _ . To my mother, I was a dark past. To Odin, a dirty secret. To my father, an asset to be gained. To Thor… to Thor, I was a perfect little boy needing protection. No one- I’ve never been  _ liked _ for who I am. So, I decided to make everyone hate me, that way at least I know they won’t be pretending I’m something I’m not.”

“Do you know why I don’t have any friends at school?” Dean asked, startling Loki with the change of subject. “I had secrets to hide. The more people care, the more they start asking questions, the more shit comes out.”

“What does this — ”

“After I came here, “ Dean continued, “I didn’t have to hide anything, but I still don’t have any friends. I realized that I don’t know how to make friends. I don’t know how to be nice to people and not just flirt with them. I spent so long pushing people away, that I forgot how to reach out.”

Loki eyed the teen. “Why are you even talking about this with me? Why don’t you just yell at me some more and leave?”

“Because I’ve always been good at taking care of little brothers, I guess it doesn’t matter how old that little brother is,” Dean grinned. “It’s gonna be hard to stop being a dick all at once, trust me, I know, but it’s something to talk to your therapist about and something to work towards.”

The younger teen stood up clumsily and made his way to the door, deciding it best to give Loki some space. Before closing the door, he stuck his head in and made sure he had the older teen’s attention. “If you  _ ever _ make Sammy cry again, I’m gonna rip your balls off.”

Dean heard Loki chuckle softly through the door.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, so sorry for the unexpected hiatus.....turns out going back to work after a pandemic is going to keep you busy...who knew, right?

Pausing outside their bedroom door, Dean collected himself in preparation to talk to his younger brother.

“Dean!” 

The teen jumped in surprise at Tony’s call. “Yeah?”

The man jogged down the hall to lean against the wall in front of Dean.

“What happened?” he asked, running a hand through his hair, making it stick up more than it already was. “I already talked to Thor, but I want to hear it from you before I talk to Sam and Loki.”

Dean shook his head and rested his head against the closed door. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered.”

“You’ve — excuse me?” Tony blinked, eyebrows raising.

“Yeah, I got it, don’t worry about it,” the teen repeated, moving to open the door to escape the situation.

“Oh no you don’t,” Tony placed a hand on Dean’s stopping the teen. “Let’s talk about this.”

“We don’t have to — ”

“Yes,” the man interrupted. “We do. If there is a fight in this house, especially one that almost turned physical, I worry about it.”

“You’ve got enough on your plate, I handled it,” Dean snapped, not understanding why the man wouldn’t let this go.

“Dean, can we talk about this in Steve’s office? Or the garage maybe?” Tony lowered his voice, aware of the teen’s defensive position.

“No, I handled it, end of story,” Dean moved once again to open the door.

“Dean! For fuck’s sake — ” Tony exclaimed, raising his arms in a show of frustration. The man froze when he noticed the teen flinch violently, pressing himself against the door and breathing just a little heavier than he was a moment ago.

Tony slowly lowered his arms to where Dean could clearly see them and took a deep breath. “Dean, I am really sorry about that. I did  _ not _ mean to startle you. Would you like me to take a step back?”

Dean thought for a moment, before shaking his head, relaxing his stance. “I’m sorry, I don’t — ”

“No need to apologize, bud. I’m the one that messed up,” Tony assured him. “Can we please talk? I’ll make hot chocolate?”

Dean, still visibly shaken, nodded his head and followed the man down the stairs and into the kitchen. He sat quietly at the breakfast nook staring at his hands while Tony prepared the mugs in silence.

“Now,” Tony started as he sat across from Dean, handing the teen his own mug, “What’s going on with you?”

“With me?” Dean scoffed. “It wasn’t  _ my _ fault —”

“I know that,” Tony cut the boy off. “I already spoke to Thor, I know what Loki said, and, under the circumstances, I understand how you reacted. That’s not what I’m talking about.” The man leaned further into the table, his eyes weary and concerned, pierced Dean’s. “I’m asking what’s going on with  _ you _ .”

Dean opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out.

“Ever since Steve left, you’ve been...different. I understand it’s stressful, not to mention you’re still struggling at school and the fact that Loki is… a bit difficult,” Tony paused, resting his face in his hands. 

“Look,” he continued, wiping his face and looking at the teen once more, “I’m doing my best here. Thor is still sparring with you, yes?” Dean nodded. “Then what else is going on? I may be a genius, but, Dean, I can’t figure it out right now, you have to help me. What’s changed?”

Dean stared at the table, trying to figure out how to respond. “You need help,” he started.

“Yeah! No shit! I almost sent you into a flashback, Loki’s acting out and I have no idea how to fix it because he’s a fucking angel around me so I can’t call him out on it, Bruce needs so much more attention than I’ve been giving him and it’s probably gonna fuck up his schedule at some point — ” 

“Hey!” Dean interrupted the man’s spiral, pulling him back into the conversation. “I’m sorry, but that’s not what I meant. With Steve gone, you needed help with the kids, so I took on Sam and Clint.”

“You — ” Tony sputtered. “What do you mean you ‘took on’ Sam and Clint?”

“You know,” the teen shrugged. “Like, taking care of them. Making sure their homework was done, making their lunches, handling their problems, that sort of thing.”

The man sighed and smiled exhaustedly at Dean. “You fell back into your role as a caretaker.”

Dean shrugged again. “Look out for Sammy, that’s my job.”

“Can I give you a hug, Dean?” Tony asked, confusing the teen, but he nodded all the same.

The man moved around the table to sit beside the boy and pulled him into a deep hug, resting his head over Dean’s.

“I’m sorry you felt like you needed to do that, Dean,” Tony whispered. “You should never have been put in that situation.”

Dean pulled back, about to respond, but Tony held on to the boy’s arms and looked him in the eye.

“I’m even more sorry that I didn’t see that that’s what you were doing. I was so preoccupied with trying to do everything that I didn’t ask for help to make things easier.” The man smiled and ran a hand through Dean’s hair. “You’re not Sam’s parent.”

“But — ”

“You’re not,” Tony continued. “Your father put you in an impossible position when there were no other adults around. This is a lot to ask of you, but I need you — Steve and I need you to trust us. By letting us adopt him, Sam’s letting  _ us _ be his parents and taking the burden off of you.”

“He’s my brother!” Dean snapped, pulling away from Tony. He was offended that the man didn’t think Sam wanted him.

“Yes, and you’re always going to be his brother. Dean, you’re an amazing brother!” Tony assured the teen. “But I don’t think you know what it means to  _ just _ be a brother.”

“Like hell! You don’t even have any siblings!”

“You’re right, but I do have friends that I see as siblings. I know it’s not the same, but I know the difference between what brothers and sisters are supposed to do for each other, and what a parent is supposed to do,” Tony explained. “Tell me, Dean, what is the role of a sibling?”

“To protect and take care of your siblings!” the teen replied sharply.

“And what is the role of a parent?”

“To — ” Dean paused, thinking furiously. “To feed, clothe and shelter.”

Tony nodded. “And what else?”

“To — ” the teen scrambled trying to come up with something else.

“To protect and take care of,” the man finished. “Siblings, yes, protect and take care of each other, but in a different capacity. Is there someone at school giving Clint and Sam a hard time? Totally stick up for them. Sacrificing your happiness for theirs?” Tony shook his head. “That’s too much to ask of you.”

“I’m not — ”

“Have you made any friends yet?” the man asked suddenly.

“What do friends have to do with anything?”

“Dean, all you do is school and spar with Thor,” Tony pointed out.

“And?”

“That’s not a life! Hang out at the mall, go see movies, be a teenager! Stop worrying about leaving your little brother alone!” Tony took a deep breath and started again. “Look, I’m messing all this up. The mushy stuff is Steve’s area and oh my god I miss that man. I’m not saying you’re doing anything wrong, just… can you please bring it up with Dr. Mills? Ask her to tell you the difference?”

Sensing the man was done with the conversation, Dean abandoned his still steaming drink and headed to the stairs, silently fuming.

“Dean?” Tony called out once more. 

Rolling his eyes, the teen looked back. The man looked utterly defeated as he sat at the table by himself with two undrunk mugs, his shoulders curling inwards and eyes pleading.

“Yeah?” Dean called back.

“You know I love you, right?”

The teen paused and closed his eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, I know.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!!!   
> I'm so sorry for the (5?) month break, but life was insanely busy. But fear not! I have not nor am I ever planning of abandoning this series!!  
> (Also, can we just agree not to talk about that series finale? Good.)

Leaving the broken man behind him, Dean ran up the stairs, once again taking a measured breath before entering his and Sam's room.

"Sammy? You still awake?" he whispered into the darkness.

A moment of silence, before Dean heard a quiet "Yeah," followed by a sniffle.

"How ya doin?" he padded over softly and sat beside the lump of blankets on his brother's bed.

A shrug. "I don't hear any sirens," Sam started. "You didn't murder Loki after all?"

"Nah, too much cleanup. Left him with a warning."

The two stayed in silence for a long moment, both not knowing what to say.

"Dean?"

"Yeah, Sammy?"

"I miss dad."

The teen sighed and dropped his head to his chest. "I miss him too kiddo," he whispered. Dean placed a hand on his brother's back and began absent-mindedly rubbing in soothing circles.

"But...just like you said, Tony's so much better," Sam finally turned to look at the teen without disrupting the hand on him. In the dim light, Dean saw that the boy's face was still glistening slightly with tears. "Dean?"

"Yeah, Sammy?"

"I think I like Steve and Tony more than Dad," the boy admitted quietly. "Does that make me a bad son?"

Dean blew out the breath he was holding, thought for a second, then pulled his younger brother up to look him directly in the eyes. "Not at all, Sam. Steve and Tony give you so much more than Dad ever did. They tell you they love you, they drive you around every day, they keep up to date on all your little clubs," he paused, "it makes you human."

Sam gave a small smile and a nod before sniffling and dropping his gaze to his hands.

"Besides, if that were to make you a bad son, what the hell would that make me?" Dean tried to joke, knocking into the other boy's shoulders slightly.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, both in alarm and confusion.

"Woah, calm down, nothing. It doesn't mean anything, just trying to end the chick flick moment, Sammy," the teen raised his hands in a placating manner.

Sam studied his older brother. "No, you're jokes are usually you telling the truth in a way other people don't understand. What did you mean?"

Dean blinked in shock. "Excuse me?"

The boy shrugged. "I've been talking to Dr. Mills about you...nothing that you said in your sessions with her," he was quick to assure, "but more like, I'm trying to get to know you better through what you do and not what you say. You're not really the type to just say what's on his mind, Dean."

"You— you've been what? Psychoanalyzing me?" Dean's voice rose just a little, beginning to panic. If he couldn't hide things from Sam anymore, how could he protect him?

"Dean, chill, it's not as bad as you think, just—"

"Have you been _tracking_ what I do?"

"Of course not, I'm just observant and—"

"You and Dr. Mills think I'm a mental case, don't you?"

"No! Dean, we would never! That has nothing to do with—"

"No, Sam," the teen stood up abruptly. "I don't care if you get into that stupid Freudian 'everyone wants to fuck their mom' crap, but keep it away from me."

Dean angrily started getting himself ready for bed, almost ripping his shirt in his carelessness to get it over his head. This couldn't be happening. Sammy doesn't get to know his ticks, he doesn't get to know when Dean's lying. He can't. He can't.

"Dean, come on. It's not that big a deal."

"Just drop it Sam, and quit tryin' to get in my head!" Dean snapped, throwing the shirt harshly to the floor.

"I'm not trying to get in your head, Dean, I'm just trying to understand you bett—"

"Understand what?" Dean finally locked eyes with the boy. "What do you possibly think that there is to _understand_ about me? Huh? You wanna know all my secrets, Sammy?"

"I don't know why you're getting so angry! Yeah, I want to know you're secrets, Dean, I'm your brother, we shouldn't _have_ any!"

The teen threw both his caution and his hands into the air as he started shouting, "Are you ready to go there? Do you really want to know everything that I keep from you? Do you wanna know about how I refused to cry when mom died because every time you saw me crying, you'd start too? Or how about the fact that the _only_ thing I'm good at is taking care of you, and now that we're here, I'm fucking useless. Or, oh, I know! Do you wanna know that while you're feeling guilty about liking the nicest people we've ever met a little more than the man that basically abandoned us, _I'm_ the one that didn't want dad to even come back in the first place!"

The room was filled with stunned silence.

Sam simply stared at the older boy.

Dean's mouth opened and closed multiple times, not a sound escaping.

"Didn't think so," the teen eventually whispered, then closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "My head isn't somewhere you wanna be. It's not something you want to understand."

The room remained quiet while Dean turned off the light and got underneath his covers, facing away from the other boy that continued to watch him in silence.

"I had no idea you were dealing with that," Sam whispered in the dark.

Giving a snort, Dean responded, "Yeah, that was kinda the point."

"Can we talk about this, Dean? Please?"

"No. Go to sleep."

"But—"

Dean sat up and turned toward his brother. "Go the _fuck_ to sleep, Sam," he snapped before returning to his original position of completely ignoring the boy.

No more words were spoken that night. Dean listened to the sound of Sam lying back down and rolling around in the covers until he eventually did fall into a fitful sleep.

Dean didn't sleep at all.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! The real Dean didn't get therapy, but THIS Dean sure is :D

Dean's next therapy appointment couldn't come soon enough. Marching through the door and slamming it behind him, the teen exploded.

"Where the _fuck_ do you get off on talking about me to Sam?" he yelled, absolutely fuming with rage.

"Dean, why don't you have a seat and we can—"

"No! You don't get to tell me to sit down and 'take some deep _fucking_ breaths'. You're not here to talk to my little brother about me, period. You help _him,"_ the teen demanded, glaring at the woman, who, to her credit, was completely unfazed.

"That's what I'm doing, Dean."

"Bullshit!"

"How can I help Sam if we don't talk about you, Dean?" she asked, calmly. "You're his hero, his protector."

"And that relates to him getting therapy, how?" the teen spat.

"Can you have a seat for me?" Jody repeated.

"No."

"Alright," the woman leaned forward in her chair to make sure that she had Dean's full attention. "Before I say anything, know that I got his permission to tell you this. You're his best friend, Dean, and he doesn't know why you do anything that you do. I have never given him any information about you that isn't on your records, and he figures out most things on his own, I just ask the right questions to help him along."

"But he doesn't _need_ to—"

"Yes, Dean, he does," Dr. Mills interrupted. "You are his only constant in life and his only stable relationship. _Yours_ is the basis for every other good relationship in his life, so if he doesn't know why you react to certain things, or why you do things a certain way, how do you expect him to have healthy relationships in the future?"

The teen paused, genuinely trying to think of a good response, but came up with nothing.

"Dean, you don't have to tell him all of your secrets. Hell, you don't have to do anything at all, but giving Sam those tools to figure out what's really going on is only going to help him, both now and in the future." Jody once again gestured for Dean to sit, which he finally decided to do.

Dropping himself onto the couch heavily, he sat with his knee continually bouncing in residual anger. Or was it anxiety now? _Is this what anxiety feels like?_ It didn't feel like a panic attack like the other times, but whatever it was, he didn't like it.

"Can you tell me what you're thinking about, Dean?"

The teen snapped his gaze up from the floor to look at the woman once more. "If he knows when I'm hiding something, I can't protect him," he finally admitted.

"With your past, that's a very valid concern for you to have. However, when you're looking into the future, can you tell me a situation in which you would _need_ to?" she asked softly.

Dean wracked his brain, frantically coming up with scenarios but shooting them down because _things were different now._

He didn't have to lie about injuries anymore.

He didn't have to lie about dad 'coming home any day now'.

He didn't have to lie about where he got that night's dinner, or how they afforded another night at the motel when they were out of cash.

He didn't have to lie about being hungry, or hurt, or tired, or cold.

"What if he asks about things from before?" he finally asked. "I'm not telling him what really happened. Not with the foster parents, and not from before that."

"It's okay to have boundaries, Dean. If he brings something up that you genuinely don't want to talk about, just tell him that subject is off the table for the time being," she suggested.

Dean rolled his eyes dramatically. "That kid doesn't leave a bear unpoked."

"Then I think it would be a good idea to talk to him before he brings anything up," Jody continued. "Maybe tonight, before you go to bed, just pull him aside and say that you need to establish some boundaries and when you tell him to stop asking about something that you really do need him to back off. Tell him that the reason isn't that you don't trust him, or because of anything he's done, but just because you, personally aren't ready to talk about it. Maybe if he knows it's a possibility, he won't be as persistent."

The teen thought about it. "That could work," he muttered. "But I still don't want him in my head."

"He won't be," she assured him. "Maybe he'll just call you out when you're being avoidant or self-deprecating."

"What's that mean?"

"That you're being mean to yourself."

Dean laughed once, hard. "Yeah, okay."

"Dean," Jody sighed a little, collecting her thoughts. "We've already established that you have problems with your self-esteem. Maybe if someone reminds you when you're hard on yourself, it'll be easier to recognize when you're having these thoughts and you can start taking the steps to correct them."

He looked away from the woman, choosing instead to study his hands. They've become too soft. It's been too long since he's held a gun. Steve and Tony only took him to the range once before Steve left and Tony was too in over his head to take him again.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Dean said in a very monotone voice.

"That's alright. Did you think about why you asked me that question last time? If I thought John was a good dad?" Jody leaned back in her seat, getting more comfortable now that the teen's aggression seemed to be completely gone.

Dean nodded. "I realized that you were right. I love him, I'll always love him, but he wasn't the best dad. Steve and Tony are— they're just—" he trailed off, struggling to find the words.

"John would give me this nod to let me know that I did something right. Sometimes he would say 'good job, sport', but those were far and in between and for things like staying up all night with the shotgun watching the door while Sammy slept. Those were the only times I ever truly felt like he cared about me," Dean started. "Even when I got suspended for fighting or came home high off painkillers, I have never _once_ doubted how much Steve and Tony care for me. Hell, even when I'm getting punished they still tell me they love me and that I can come to them with anything."

He paused, once again staring at his hands. "I never realized how much I was missing until I had it. I never realized how much kids need to hear certain things from their parents."

"Dean," Jody spoke once the teen went quiet. "That was an amazing discovery about yourself, and I am so proud of you for making it."

Dean looked up in surprise. Dr. Mills was a no-nonsense person, she'd never said something like that before.

"And you are absolutely right. Kids need the verbal and physical assurance that their parents love them, and that was something you've never had with John."

Blushing slightly, Dean dropped his gaze again. "Why—"

The woman waited, but the teen didn't continue. "Why, what, Dean?"

He sighed, then, brows furled in confusion and more than just a little pain, asked: "Why didn't he give that to me? Why didn't he give that to us?"

"I can't tell you that, Dean. The only person that can answer that is in the ground. Do you have a theory?"

Dean shook his head. "No. I mean, maybe he didn't know how?"

"That's very possible," Jody conceded. "Any reason you think that?"

He shrugged. "I mean, I'd never even seen a dad tell their son they love them before coming to Steve and Tony. Didn't know it was a thing. Maybe if _I_ didn't know..."

"Maybe." Jody smiled.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I hope everyone is staying safe!!  
> Today's update was originally two chapters, but seeing how short each section was....enjoy the short scenes in a normal sized chapter lol

"Hey, Sam?" Dean called out. The teen was sitting on his bed, fiddling with his phone as he watched Sam pack his backpack before getting into bed, the nerd. Dean had come back from his therapy session only a couple hours earlier and had been working himself up to actually have the talk with Sam.

"Yeah, Dean?" the boy responded, distracted with making sure all his books were where they were supposed to be.

"About our...talk the other night," Dean started, faltering slightly.

Knowing exactly what his brother was talking about, Sam stopped what he was doing and looked at Dean. "Yeah?"

"I talked to Dr. Mills, and she said that we need to establish boundaries," the teen rushed out, dropping his gaze to the floor.

"Boundaries?"

"Yeah, like limits on what we can and can't talk about."

"Oh," Sam thought for a second. "Why?"

"Because—" Dean sighed and threw himself backwards on the bed. "Because there are things that I just can't talk about with you, Sammy. You're my brother and there are things that I don't want you to know. It's—it's not because of anything you did, or that I don't trust you or—"

"Then why?" Sam demanded, walking up to look Dean in the eye.

Deciding to take a page from Dr Mill's book, he sat up and placed his hands on Sam's arms, finally looking directly at him. "Because that's how things work in a healthy relationship. Sometimes things are kept secret between people and that's okay. There are also things that are really hard for some people to talk about, like how we don't ask Natasha about why she doesn't talk. Make sense?"

Sam thought hard for a moment. "Okay, what are your boundaries, Dean?" he asked in the most serious expression the eleven-year-old could muster.

"I'm not sure yet, Sammy," he answered truthfully. "But if we ever have a fight like the other night, and I tell you that you need to back off, you need to back off. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay Dean."

* * *

"Where is he?" Steve demanded as he stepped into the army hospital.

"Captain Rogers, may I say what a pleasure—"

"Not now. Where is Sergeant Barnes?" the Captain was in no mood for pleasantries until he saw his best friend alive in person.

"Sir, you might want to wait—"

"You will tell me where he is or I will get you written up for insubordination," Steve spat.

"Very well," the doctor sighed and led Steve down drab hallways until he stopped in front of a nondescript door. "Before I let you in, they've been having trouble getting him to understand where he is. Short of sedating him, our only option was to give him safety cuffs and—"

"Open the fucking door."

With a squeal, the doctor pushed the door open and let Steve walk through.

"Bucky?"

"No! Get away from me!" Bucky pleaded, eyes clenched shut, thrashing on the army cot. "Please!"

Steve took a step closer. "Bucky, it's me, it's Steve," he called out softly, just loud enough to be heard over the noise.

"NO!" the man screamed. "STOP! Enough with the tricks, I'll do whatever you want, just please!"

Steve's heart broke just a little more, but persevered. "Buck, please, it's me."

"No, you're not!"

"Open your eyes, Buck, look at me!" Steve begged, eyes brimming with the tears he refused to shed. Bucky's eyes opened, it seemed, without permission, as if the command were enough to control him. Letting the man focus, Steve stood completely still.

"St—Stevie?" Buck whispered.

With a half sob, half laugh, Steve replied: "Yeah, Buck. It's me.

Bucky smiled softly. "I knew you'd come for me," he said, before promptly passing out.

* * *

Steve collapsed at the desk chair in the bare army room. He rested his elbows on the desk and ran his hands down his face in exhaustion. Perking himself up, he fired up his newly reinstated cell phone and video called the one person he needed to see most in the world: his husband.

"Steve?" a groggy voice came from the speaker. The screen was still dark, although Steve could see shapes moving vaguely.

"I'm sorry, it must be like, three in the morning. I'll call back later—"

"Don't you dare," Tony commanded, much more awake. The man shuffled around until the screen was awash with light and Steve finally saw the love of his life's face.

"Tony," Steve whispered.

"Steve," Tony responded, the same amount of adoration lacing his voice. "Steve, I love you, and it's wonderful to see you again, but honey," Tony paused. "You look like shit."

Steve laughed, which quickly gave way to sobs, the high emotions of the past few days catching up to him.

"Oh, shit, Steve, is everything okay?" Tony began panicking. "It's Bucky, isn't it? He didn't make it?"

"No," Steve sniffed and wiped his face, smiling at the camera. "He's alive. I just saw him, I—" The man couldn't continue because he was sobbing too hard to let the words out.

"It's a lot, isn't it?" Tony asked quietly, understanding that his husband just needed a moment to fall apart and support when he was done. Steve nodded frantically.

"I wish I were there, Love. I'd hold you right now and just whisper that everything's gonna be alright now," Tony smiled. "He's safe and sound now because of you, Steve."

The soldier began to cry harder.

"Take your time, sweetie, you take all the time you need to process everything, I'll be right here."

"Tones, I—I—so sorry—"

"Nope, you don't get to do that," Tony cut Steve off. "You don't get to apologize for your emotions. What you do get to do is whatever the hell you need to while I sit here talking to you. Got that?"

Steve nodded. "I love you," he whispered in between gasps of air.

Tony smiled. "I love you too, my darling."

* * *

"I have some exciting news, everyone!" Tony announced when everyone filed into the kitchen for breakfast. "Papa saved Uncle Bucky yesterday!"

The room was filled with cheers at the news, all wondering when the man was going to return home once more.

"Relax, it literally only happened yesterday," the man chuckled, in a much better state of mind after talking to his husband. "He still has a bunch of paperwork and meetings to go through before they can fly him back, he's guessing he'll be in the air in about a week."

"We have to wait a whole nother week!" Clint exclaimed, fake fainting on Natasha, who pushed him away teasingly.

"Unfortunately. But, because he's no longer on a secret base: he can call us!" the man announced, earning another loud cheer.

"I'm gonna call him right now!" Clint decided, taking out his phone and video calling his father.

"Clint! You don't know what he's doing right now! He could be in an important meeting, hang up!" Tony insisted.

"Don't you dare hang up, Clint," Steve's voice filled the kitchen.

"Papa!"

Sam, Thor and Natasha were all crowding around Clint, trying to see the man, until Tony grabbed the phone out of Clint's hand. "Hey!" the thirteen-year-old protested.

"If we're calling your father, we are all getting the chance to see him," Tony explained fiddling with the phone until the image appeared on the big screen in the corner of the kitchen. The family gathered in front of the television while Tony propped the camera of the phone so Steve could see everyone as well.

"Hi, everyone!" Steve called out when Tony stepped back.

"Papa!"

"We missed you so much, Papa!" Sam said, a huge smile on his face.

Steve, Tony noticed, looked much better than he had hours earlier, the tear tracks gone and mussed hair straightened, looking much more like his usual self.

"I missed you all so much too, I can't even say how excited I am to hold all of you again!" Steve was overjoyed at seeing his kid's faces for the first time in weeks that he didn't even care that he had interrupted a conversation to take the call. One of the men made it apparent that they were waiting for him to return, though, with a pointed cough.

With a frustrated look, Steve sighed. "I'm really sorry I can't talk long, but I really miss each and every one of you and I love you all so much!" Steve blew a kiss into the camera, smiling when Clint and Sam returned the gesture.

"Bye, Papa!" The kids called out, waving enthusiastically behind Tony as the man reached to disconnect the call.

"Goodbye, my love," Tony blew a kiss of his own.

"Steve smiled and blew one just for his husband. "Goodbye, my love."

As Tony disconnected them, Steve heard one of the men scoff softly and mutter under his breath: "fuckin fags."

Steve's eyes shot up, finding the man immediately. The lieutenant didn't realize his superior had heard him and sat straight up when he noticed the man's eyes on him. "Sir?"

"You got a problem with 'fags', Lieutenant?" Steve asked, glaring.

The man began to sputter, trying to come up with an excuse.

"Report to your cabin. You're dismissed," Steve commanded, watching the man sweat. "If I hear of you leaving your cabin before you are expressly ordered to, you will find yourself scrubbing every single toilet in this base with your toothbrush, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," the man blushed, saluted quickly and promptly left the room.

Steve glanced around at the other men and women. "Anyone else got a problem?"

"Only if I don't get to commend you for that," Colonel Rhodes responded, leaning back in his chair. "Tony's gonna love this."


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday! :)

Just like Dean predicted, Loki didn't change his stripes after their talk. The other teen was sullen and bitter in his grounding from Tony, but he didn't lash out or actively insult anyone for a good week after the incident.

The reprieve only lasted so long though, and Loki was once again causing everyone's frustrations to rise once more.

"Clinton, if I hear you click your pen one more time, I will break it," he whispered loudly at the boy he shared the table at the library with.

"Sorry, Loki," the boy responded sadly, softly setting the pen on the table.

"Nope," Dean called out from the next table. "That was so rude. Try again."

Dean thought that the phrase 'if looks could kill' was created for the glare the other teen was currently sending him.

"Try it again," Dean persisted, "try asking him this time instead of demanding."

"I am _not_ going to listen to your _heathenistic_ words, you—"

"Hey, it's okay," Clint interrupted, closing his textbook. "I was just about done anyways, it's fine, I'll go."

Dean motioned for Loki to stop the boy, rolling his eyes when the other boy only muttered: "Thank the gods."

"Clint," Dean spoke, "You don't have to go. Come sit over here to finish your work."

"No thank you, Dean," Clint responded with a small smile. "I'm gonna go ask Sam to play on the xbox instead. I really only had a couple questions left." The boy picked up his things quietly and made his way out the door.

"Dude, what the fuck," Dean snapped, not caring to lower his voice since they were now alone in the library.

"I could ask the same of you," Loki responded nonchalantly, returning to his laptop.

The blond got up and sat directly across from the other teen. "I thought we talked about this, about you actually making an effort."

"Your primitive brain must be inventing things. It's no wonder with _your_ genetics, something was bound to go awry."

Done with the defensiveness, Dean pulled the laptop away from Loki, slamming it shut in the process.

"How dare you!" Loki shouted, reaching across the table to get to the computer.

"You were only on Reddit anyways, it'll—" Dean stopped as he held the computer further away so Loki couldn't reach it. In reaching out like he did, Loki's sweater had risen up to his wrists, revealing the very skinny, pale and _bruised_ skin underneath.

"Loki, what is that?" Dean demanded, grabbing Loki's hand to get a better look.

"Nothing you imbecile, now give me back my computer!" the other teen snapped, trying to pull his arm back, but he was no match for Dean's grip.

"Loki," Dean, started, setting down the laptop on the chair beside him and pushing up the sleeve of the arm, revealing more of the marred skin. "Loki, who's doing this to you?"

"Nobody's doing anything to me!" the boy shouted, a look of fear now clouding his face as he continually failed to pull the arm back and cover the proof.

"I want you to know that I'm not gonna hurt you," Dean spoke in a low and calm voice, "I'm not letting go right now because I know that when I do you're going to run and you'll never want to talk about this again."

"Let me go!"

"Loki, I know exactly what these marks are. Before coming here I had them every damn day for over a year. I know what you're going through, and I know how to help you," the blond continued. "Is it Tony? Thor?"

As much as Dean could never believe that they would ever hurt anyone, let alone Loki, Dean had enough experience to know that you never judged a person by what you know about them.

_People lie and are capable of things you'd never expect._

"You think this was them?" Loki stopped struggling and looked legitimately shocked.

"Loki," Dean made sure to look directly at the other boy, "I don't know what to think right now, only that someone's hurting you. Whatever you tell me next, I'm going to believe as long as it's not 'I'm okay' or 'it's not what you think'."

This stunned Loki into silence. It was the first time Dean had seen the other teen speechless.

The two sat there, Loki's right hand securely in Dean's, the younger of the two giving the other the space to come up with the words. While they waited in the absolute stillness, Loki's left hand started fiddling with a previously hidden chain around his neck nervously. Finally, Loki sighed. "Look, it really _isn't_ what you think—"

"Try me"

"I— you'd never believe me."

"Again, try me."

"Why are you so adamant that I tell you—"

"Because I wish someone had offered me the same damn thing a year ago."

Loki studied the other teen once more, before muttering in his slavic native tongue. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you," he took a breath and straightened his posture, looking Dean dead in the eye. "It's Odin."

Dean blinked in confusion. "That was years ago, right?"

"It never stopped," Loki spat. "Thor goes on and on about how he's glad the old coot is dead, but the bastard _never left_!"

Dean sat in shock for a second, then smiled. "I know exactly what's going on."

"What?" It was Loki's turn to be in utter confusion.

"I know what's going on! He's haunting you!" Dean's smile only got bigger as he explained.

"You—you believe me?"

"Yeah, of course I do! My dad, my birth dad, that is, he used to hunt ghosts!"

Loki simply sat, staring at the other teen. "I can't believe you believe me."

"Well, I do! And I can get rid of him too!" Dean beamed, finally letting go of Loki's hand.

Loki pulled the arm back and the sleeve down to cover the bruises once more. "You can?"

"Well," Dean blushed, "I'm pretty sure. I've never done this without my dad, but it's pretty simple in practice. Was Odin buried or cremated?"

"Cremated," Loki responded hesitantly.

"Okay, so that means that he's attached to a thing," Dean continued, not missing a beat. "Did you bring anything of his with you? Anything really important to him?"

Loki clutched the chain on his neck.

"I'm guessing it's whatever's on that necklace. We need to cover it in salt and burn it. Once we do, and if we're right about the object, he'll go away forever and stop hurting you!" The blond was practically jumping out of his seat in excitement.

"Gee, I see you're really torn up about this," Loki commented in a flat voice.

"Sorry," Dean frowned. "It's just been so long since I've even heard about a hunt. It feels good to go back to my roots, ya know?"

Loki sighed. "So, if I burn this, Odin will finally leave me alone?"

"Again, if that's the only thing you have of his, almost certainly!"

"...Alright."


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The awaited hunt!!

The agreed-upon time of midnight came and went. Dean stared at the clock on his home screen while sitting on the living room couch with a container of salt and matches sitting on the coffee table in front of him.

The numbers 12:08 blared up at him in the dark.

“This idiot, I swear to god,” Dean muttered as he pushed himself up and stomped as quietly as he could up the stairs and knocked on Loki’s door. The teen had to knock three times, his anger rising with every second the door remained shut. 

Finally, the door swung open to an equally agitated Loki.

“Do you have anything against a good night’s sleep?” he spat out in a whisper.

“Dude, you were supposed to meet me downstairs like ten minutes ago!” Dean whispered back. “What gives?”

“‘What gives’ as you so eloquently put it, is that I’m not sure I trust you in the first place, why would I trust you with this?” Loki responded, leaning up against the door frame and crossing his arms.

“‘Why would you’—I’m the only one that can help, you self righteous—”

“Keep it down, do you want to wake Mr. Stark? I think this is the only time he’s touched his bed this week. If Steve comes back tomorrow and sees his husband dead on his feet because of you...”

Dean took a deep breath to gather himself and not straight up punch the other teen in the throat. “Look, do you want to get rid of the ghost of your abusive ex step-dad or not?” he spat.

Loki reached up and grabbed the end of the chain hidden under his long-sleeved sleep shirt. “I don’t know what you mean,” he rushed out, turning to close the door once more.

Dean quickly blocked him, forcing the door open and grabbing the other boy’s arm. “Hey,” he warned, “don’t do this. Don’t shut me out again.”

“Your broken mind is playing tricks on you again, listen to yourself. I wouldn’t be surprised if—”

“Stop it!” Dean interrupted, shaking Loki slightly. “Just stop it! I’m done with you trying to push everyone away and putting yourself in danger instead. I’m not just gonna leave you alone while there’s a fucking ghost hurting you.”

“Why should you even care?” Loki attempted to pull his arm away halfheartedly, with such little strength that Dean had the thought that it was merely a formality to the other boy to try and get away.

“I care because you’re family, you idiot,” he responded, none too kindly. “Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with us, and I’m not letting you get hurt when I could put a stop to it in less than a minute. Now, let’s go burn that fucking necklace and make you fucking safe.”

The two stood in silence, both breathing a little heavier in the charged atmosphere. Loki dropped his eyes and nodded once.

“That’s what I thought,” Dean spat and let go of the other teen’s arm, not caring to make sure the other was following before making his way back down the stairs. 

He grabbed the salt and matches and set himself up beside the fireplace, logs ready to be burnt and doused with a small layer of lighter fluid to make sure the item burned completely. Out of his periphery, he saw Loki slowly make his way to sit on the ground beside him.

Fighting a scoff, Dean quipped: “I never thought I’d see the day, his highness prince Loki, sitting on the floor.”

“It’s a one-time thing,” Loki sneered. “Don’t get used to it.”

“Whatever. Look, just put the necklace onto the wood in the middle, then I’ll cover it in salt and we’ll light this sucker up.”

After hesitating for a moment, the teen slowly lifted the chain from around his neck and pulled the front from underneath his shirt. When the end of the necklace appeared, it was revealed to be a man’s ring adorned with diamonds and rubies.

“Wow,” Dean commented quietly. “That’s…”

“I know what it is, you imbecile,” Loki snapped, interrupting. He reached out to put it into the fireplace, but stopped, bringing it back to his chest.

“Now what’s the matter?”

“This will destroy the ring, won’t it?” Loki whispered, staring at the unlit wood.

Dean nodded. “Unfortunately, when ghosts haunt things, the objects have to be completely destroyed or else they’re not going to leave. So yeah, you’re not getting that ring back in one piece.”

The other boy sat there, clutching the jewellery tightly. “There has to be another way. A way where we don’t have to burn it.”

Sighing, Dean ran a hand through his hair. “If there is I’ve never heard of it. If Odin was buried we’d just need to salt and burn his bones, but unless there’s anything else you have of his…”

Loki shook his head sadly, still looking blankly at the wood.

“What’s so special about this ring anyway?” he asked softly. “I thought you hated Odin, so why does this ring mean so much to you?”

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” Loki responded harshly. 

“Dude, your moods are giving me whiplash,” Dean muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Look, it’s almost 12:30 in the morning, could you turn off your dickishness for like, ten minutes? What’s going on? Why are you so attached to this ring?”

Silence.

Just when Dean was going to give up and go back to bed, Loki spoke. “It was never meant to be my fathers,” he muttered. “This belonged to my mother’s father, she had emeralds added to give to me on my sixteenth birthday.”

“But, those aren’t—”

“My father found the ring after my mother’s death, along with the note that went with it,” Loki continued. “He changed the emeralds out for rubies. My favourite colour has always been green, he couldn’t stand the reminder that it was supposed to be mine.”

Dean didn’t say anything, leaving the boy to his thoughts for a moment. 

“He wore it when he was beating me.” The teen's eyes were unfocused, and his voice was flat. “It would glint in the light as he hurt me. It—it mocked me. This was supposed to be a symbol of love from my mother, and instead, that boorish oaf used it to make me bleed.”

He paused. “It’s the only thing I have left of my mother’s.”

Dean studied the other boy. “I’m really sorry that happened to you, Loki. And I’m sorry that this is what we have to do to get Odin to stop, but it is.”

“And what if I’d rather deal with him for the rest of my life instead of destroying this ring?” Loki snapped, the haze in his eyes replaced with anger. “I’ve lasted this long, what’s the harm?”

“Dude,” Dean sighed. “I know that this is important to you. I couldn’t imagine if I had to do this to my dad’s leather jacket, but you can’t mean that you’d be okay with getting hurt for the rest of your life! This man already hurt you when he was alive, don’t give him the satisfaction of doing it in death as well!”

Dean could see that Loki was still unsteady. “And Loki, he’s only going to get stronger. The longer ghosts are attached to an object, the more harm they can do. What if he ends up killing you one day? Huh?”

The other teen’s eyes shot up in shock.

“Do you really want to do that to Steve and Tony?” Dean asked quietly. “These guys have waited four years to bring you over to be their son, and you’re gonna risk all that for a memory that you’re gonna have anyways?”

Loki dropped his head, twisting the ring slightly and watching the diamonds shine in the dim lights.

“Dude,” Dean dropped his head to try and catch the eye of the other teen. “You’re always gonna know how much your mom loved you, with or without a ring.”

Loki sat, just staring at the ring for another minute or two, then took a big breath and nodded, but made no move to put the ring on the logs.

“Okay, how about this:” the younger teen slowly moved towards the other, as if approaching a wild animal. “You give me the ring, you trust me enough to give me the ring, and I’ll put it in the fire and light it up. You don’t have to do anything other than give me the ring. Is that something you can do?”

Loki thought for a moment, then nodded. He gave the ring one final squeeze with his hands, then held the ring up to Dean.

Internally sighing in relief, Dean reached out and picked up the ring as delicately as he could. “Thank you, Loki. Thank you for trusting me.”

Continuing to be gentle with the other teen’s prized possession, he placed the ring in the middle of the logs and began covering it in salt, so much salt it was impossible to see the gold underneath. As Dean was about to light the match and set it ablaze, Loki reached out and gently touched his adoptive brother’s arm. 

“Let me?” he asked quietly. 

Dean nodded and passed over the matchbook. He stepped back to give Loki the space he needed and watched as the other boy held the match to the wood, waiting until it caught flame to throw the entire match into the quickly lighting fire.

As the two watched the flame devour the jewellery, Dean studied the other teen. 

“You did the right thing.”

Loki shrugged, hugging his knees. “How will we know it worked?”

“Well, to be honest usually we know it worked because the ghost is here trying to stop us, but the entire property has been ghost proofed, so we probably won’t know for sure until you go somewhere, like school.”

The raven-haired teen furrowed his brows in thought. “That’s why he never hurt me when I was home. It was always when I was alone in the hallways at school, or sometimes in the car.”

“Yeah, Mr. Coulson knows what he’s doing, but I’m sure even he would have trouble putting salt in every window casing at school,” Dean quipped. 

“Mr. Coulson? But isn’t he—”

“I have no idea what he is, man. All I know is that it’s a good thing he’s on our side,” Dean chuckled. 

The two sat until the embers were a dull red, not saying anything to the other until Dean was satisfied enough to say that the ghost of Odin wouldn’t be coming back any time soon.

“Well, I’m off to bed,” he said, standing up and giving in to a full-body stretch. “You coming?”

Loki shook his head. “I think I’m just gonna stay here.”

Nodding, Dean decided to not push and started to make his way to the stairs.

“Dean,” Loki called out.

“Yeah?”

The teen hadn’t moved from his place in front of the fireplace, eyes etched to the embers barely burning. “Thanks,” he said just loud enough to be heard.

Dean gave a small smile. “Don’t mention it,” he responded and made his way back to bed.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're welcome! The day everyone's been waiting for!!

The day the family had waited two and a half months for was finally here: Steve was coming home. He was flying over in an army plane along with a sedated Bucky, who (in no small part to Tony,) had been transferred to the closest private hospital in New York.

Tony watched his husband help push the hospital bed of his best friend off the plane, giving the man's hand a squeeze in farewell as they loaded him into another transport vehicle. Steve stood, staring longingly at the truck, but beamed a radiant smile when he saw his husband waiting a mere hundred yards away.

They were too far apart to hear, but Tony saw the man mouth his name before making a dead sprint towards the waiting area. The genius simply opened his arms and caught the love of his life as Steve wrapped himself around his husband and buried his face into the engineer's hair, freshly washed for the occasion.

They didn't need words as they stood there holding each other, from time to time one would turn their head and press a kiss to wherever they could reach, but for the most part, they simply enjoyed the feel of each other's arms.

They were torn apart by a voice calling out for Steve, making the taller man sigh and finally let go of the embrace. A group of men in their army best saddled up to the two.

"So, I'm guessing this is the husband?" A man in a stupid bowler hat and heavyset mustache asked, eyes crinkling in a smile.

Steve nodded, his happiness radiated off of him like heat. "Guys, this is my beautiful, genius husband Tony. Tony, this is my old team."

Tony looked at the men and quickly pointed to each one, saying their names, along with a distinguishing fact that Steve had told him in the past about the men.

The group stood there, stunned.

Steve laughed and leaned down to kiss the man softly. "I told you he was a genius."

Tony leaned into the kiss and tried to chase Steve's lips as they left.

"Oh! God, Tony, the kids!" Steve exclaimed suddenly. "Guys, it's been absolutely wonderful seeing you all again, and I'd love for you to come to dinner at our house, but I haven't seen my kids in almost three months."

Falsworth waved the man off. "Go. Your crazy ass has, what, like a dozen kids to get back to?"

"Only seven, Falsworth, you know that," Steve laughed.

"Hey, how do you know that I haven't adopted five more while you were gone?" Tony teased, causing the team to laugh at Steve's suddenly pale face. The others didn't know how likely that could be with a bleeding heart like Tony's.

"Relax, babe, it's only still the seven," the genius winked. "Now let's get going. If we leave now, we might have time for a quickie in a back alley without the kids calling us."

Steve blushed, but, to the sound of his friends hollering and cheering, pulled his husband towards the parking lot.

* * *

Despite Tony's jest, (and multiple offers of road head,) the couple made their way directly home from the landing strip.

As Steve grabbed his bags from the trunk, Tony leaned against the car, smiling. "Last moment of quiet before you head back into the madhouse."

Steve returned the smile and just replied: "Good."

The Captain shouldered his bags and made a beeline for the door and Tony trailed behind, smiling. As they both expected, the second Steve opened the door, he was hit with two little bundles of energy.

There came an overwhelming cry of:"Papa!" Sam and Clint were currently trying to climb the man in attempt to hug the man, and the others were in various places in the kitchen getting dinner ready.

"Woah, woah," Steve laughed, "I missed you too! At least let me put my bags down!"

The man dropped the bags to the floor, no notice or care where they landed and scooped his youngests in the tightest hug he could muster.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you, kids," Steve whispered, basking in the glow of his family.

"We have so much to show you, Papa!" Clint retreated from the hug and started talking a mile a minute. "We recorded Nat's winter recital, and I have a new ribbon from archery and—"

"Okay, okay, Clint," Steve ruffled the boy's hair. "I'm sure I'll see all of it soon enough, but the dinner your siblings are putting out looks like it'll go cold soon. You can tell me everything while we eat."

Tony watched as Natasha flung herself into her papa's embrace next and thought to himself: forget becoming CEO or his wedding day, this moment. This right here? This was the happiest he's ever been.

Of course, he thought the same thing when he hugged Loki at the airport for the first time, too. And when Dean accepted their invitation for adoption.

The room was loud and boisterous, taken over by Sam, Clint and Natasha interjecting over one another to talk to their father. Steve once again assured them they'd get to everything and made his way to the table to crouch by Bruce's chair and whispered a hello.

Bruce had given the man a smile and reached out to hug the man quickly before redirecting his attention towards his plate.

The Captain beamed as he stood up and went to the next child he saw, Thor.

"Papa," the adult sighed, putting the steaming dish on the table. The men came together in a strong hug before separating and nodding silently to one another.

"Loki," Steve called, seeing the boy taking his seat beside Bruce.

The teen gave him a bright smile and a small "welcome back, sir."

The man sighed and, setting it aside for later simply nodded and said thank you. "And that leaves you, Dean!" Steve called to where the teen was gathering things from the fridge.

Dean turned and smiled, his eyes bright with excitement. "Hi." He set the contents of his arms on the table and paused next to the Captain, before throwing his arms around the man. He buried his face in the neck of his adoptive father and smiled as he felt strong arms wrapping around him. Taking a deep breath, Dean whispered: "Welcome home, Papa."

Steve silently gasped and squeezed the boy even tighter, letting a few tears escape in his joy. "Thank you, Dean," he whispered back. "I know what a gift that is, and I will do everything in my power to earn it."

Pulling back, Dean looked the man in the eye and said: "You already have."


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have to earn the E rating some way ;)

"Finally!" Tony exclaimed as he shut the door to their bedroom. He'd taken a step back all evening, letting the kids get their fill of papa, waiting patiently while they said their goodnights until it was only the husbands left.

The two sat in the den, simply looking at each other. Tony lifted an eyebrow slightly and Steve responded with a sly grin. Wordlessly, they got up and began racing to the bedroom, pausing occasionally to kiss the other before leaving them behind to catch up.

"Come here sexy," Tony grabbed the back of Steve's head and pulled him down for a deep kiss. He yelped as his legs were suddenly being lifted off the ground as the Captain picked him up. "Love it when you do that," Tony groaned.

"Oh yeah?" Steve smiled, then quickly threw his husband on their mattress and watched him scramble to get purchase.

The genius pouted at his husband and murmured, "Jerk." Steve only laughed in return.

"Is that what you want?" Tony asked, crawling his way up the bed to look up at the captain, still in his army suit. "You wanna throw me around? Hold me down? Have your way with me, 'Captain'?" he practically purred.

Steve brought his hands up to cup his husband's cheeks. "Actually," he said softly. "I think I'd like the opposite."

Searching Steve's eyes, the engineer smiled. "You want us to go slow, hun? Want me to take my time?" The man's once wandering hands softened, and made their way to rest on top of Steve's chest.

The blond closed his eyes and dropped his forehead to Tony's, before nodding slightly. "I missed you so much, you have no idea, I—"

"Hey, hey," Tony started at the hitch of the captain's breathing. "Hey, I've got you. You're home now, you're home safe and sound with me and our wonderful kids."

Steve shuttered out a small sob and clutched at the front of Tony's shirt.

"That's it, love, let it out, I'm right here," the genius muttered, pulling the man in for a proper hug. "What do you need from me, sweetheart? Anything at all. You just wanna stay here and not move till morning? We can do that. You want me to hold you in bed so you can cry yourself to sleep? We can do that too. Just say the word, darling."

"I need you," Steve forced out.

"You have me, my love," Tony whispered, rubbing circles into the other man's back.

"No," the captain pulled back slightly to look at Tony. "I _need_ you. _Please_."

"Oh, oh honey are you sure?" Tony began wiping the streaks of tears on Steve's cheeks. "We don't have to do anything tonight, it's okay."

" _Please_ , Tony." Steve clutched his husband closer to him and tried to tell him how much he needed this with his tear-filled eyes.

"Alright, honey. Alright." Tony brought their lips together for a slightly wet and salty kiss. "Any requests?"

"Just," Steve's voice broke as he closed his eyes and lowered his head. "Just—just tell me you love me. Please take me apart and put me back together. It's what you _do_ , Tony, _please_ —"

"Hey, shh," Tony lifted Steve's head back up and waited until the other man opened his eyes once more. "I love you so much it hurts. My first thought in the morning and my last thought at night is of you. I would give away _everything_ if it meant making you smile, just once. You, Steve Stark, are the love of my life, and I couldn't be prouder to call you my husband."

Steve sobbed even harder, gripping Tony's shirt so hard one of the seams began to rip from the strain.

"Hey, come on big guy," he pulled away slightly and began undoing Steve's tie. "I can't make love to you all covered up, I wanna see the most gorgeous man alive."

Slowly and methodically, Tony undressed his husband, laying everything flat on the settee and kissing every inch of skin he uncovered. Steve's sobbing slowed and eventually, only occasional tears and sniffs permeated the atmosphere.

Tony finally tugged down the man's briefs, silently asking him to step out before he stood straight once more and cupped the tear-stained face in his hands. "There's my beautiful husband," he smiled.

Steve gave him a small smile in return.

"I love you so much," Tony whispered, giving his husband the softest kiss he could muster on the man's pliant lips. "Are you sure you want this, hun?"

Steve's tightened in worry. "Not unless you—"

"Shh," the engineer calmed the other man. "Believe me when I tell you I really want you right now in any way you'll have me. I'm just making sure you haven't changed your mind. We could always just have a bubble bath, or just go to sleep. Whatever you want, love."

The captain shook his head slowly, then bent over to kiss Tony again, this one much deeper and much more passionate. "Please," he whispered.

"Okay, baby, okay," the genius shushed, running his hands through Steve's hair to calm him some more. "Why don't you lay down for me, huh? Let me see my gorgeous husband on our million-dollar bed."

"Million doll—" Steve sputtered.

"Shh," Tony interrupted, "doesn't matter right now, honeybunch, just lay down for me, sugarplum."

The other man gave a look that said ' _we're talking about this later_ ' but complied, setting himself gently in the middle of their marriage bed. Tony quickly stripped out of his clothing and crawled up beside his husband, beginning to trace his fingers lightly over Steve's stomach and chest.

"How do you want this, love," Tony whispered softly. "I can slowly tease you over the edge, I can worship you until you can do nothing but give into the pleasure, I can treat you like my perfect little babydoll that I simply adore….what do you want my darling?"

Steve gave a small gasp when Tony's fingers brushed intentionally over the other man's nipples.

"Yours," Steve whispered back. "I want to be yours."

Tony simply smiled and gave the man another soft kiss, before sliding down the bed to position himself between Steve's legs.

"Mine? Oh, honey, you were always mine," the engineer replied as he leant down to tease his husband's chest with the tip of his tongue. "This right here?" he flicked his tongue in the hollow of Steve's throat. "Mine. This?" He nipped lightly at the man's Adam's apple, "Mine."

Tony not so gently grasped Steve's chin, then leaned over and bit the man's lips lightly. "Every noise that comes out of these lips? They belong to me. Isn't that right?"

Steve nodded frantically, his eyes heavy-lidded and mouth slightly open, panting already.

"That's right, sweetheart," Tony agreed, before lifting the other man's left hand. Slowly, making sure to draw out every second, the genius licked the entirety of Steve's ring finger, paying extra attention to the gold band wrapped around it. "This ring right here? That's my fucking claim on you. It means that no one else can touch you, that you _belong_ to me."

Without warning, Tony sucked the entire finger into his mouth, sucking forcefully and causing Steve to all but buck into the air at the feeling.

"Tony, please," Steve whined, using his right hand to grip his husband's arm.

The other man released the finger with a pop. "I like you begging, mi amour," Tony smirked. "Do it again for me."

"Please, Tony, please!" Steve cried, a single tear making its way down the captain's already tear-stained face.

"Oh, sweetheart," the genius leaned back down and began to devour his husband's mouth. "I'll always give you what you need," he whispered, before moving further down and sucking a nipple into his mouth.

Steve almost threw Tony off of him with how forcefully he arched his back. He gripped the engineer's hair so tightly that he had to force his hand to relax a couple of times out of fear he was hurting the man.

Tony laved his tongue on the nipple, circling and lapping, occasionally drawing a yerk and a moan as he bit down. The process repeated when he moved to the other side, paying just as much attention to the other nipple as he did the first. By the time he sat up, mouth glistening with saliva, Steve had his head thrown back in abandon, eyes squeezed shut and breath coming out in shaky pants.

"How ya doin' babe?" Tony whispered, caressing Steve's cheek lightly. The blond nodded, giving a small smile.

"You know what else is mine?" the genius continued, then snaked his hand down to grasp the captain's full erection. "This. This is mine. I don't care who else has touched it or how many times you play with it, but who does it belong to?"

Steve opened his eyes slightly and winced when Tony gave a small squeeze. "You, Tony," he breathed. "It belongs to you."

"Fuck yeah, it does." Quickly, Tony bent over and swallowed the member whole, almost choking when Steve bucked the tiniest amount before regaining control.

The room was filled with gasping and the sound of sucking. Occasionally, Tony would need to catch his breath and began kissing and licking his husband's cock and the surrounding areas before returning to his main task.

The brunette rose up from the blow job, and with a parting kiss on the head of the dick, he dropped it to slap wetly against Steve's stomach. "You know what else is mine?" he growled out in his wrecked voice.

Steve gave a smile gasp and whispered "My ass. Tony, my ass is yours, please, please own it, please—" He cut off in a moan as soon as he felt his husband's long, lean and calloused finger push its way in his ass ruthlessly. When Tony had covered the finger in lube, Steve had no idea, but he didn't even come close to caring.

One finger made its way to three, Steve gasping and moaning the entire time, with Tony growling out encouragement. By the time Tony was fully seated in his husband, Steve was a complete wreck, clutching and clawing at the brunette's back, drawing his impossibly closer and letting more than a few tears escape, which Tony lapped up in time with his thrusting.

With one final brush against his prostate and the friction of their stomachs against his cock, Steve buried his face and bit Tony's neck to stifle the scream of his orgasm. Tony threw his head back in a mixture of pain and pleasure and continued pounding into the man, following his husband in completion not long after.

The genius collapsed on top of Steve, both clutching the other and breathing harshly.

Tony moved to get up and clean them off, but Steve only tightened his hold on the man.

"We can clean up in the morning, Tones," Steve whispered, already half asleep. "I need you here with me right now, tomorrow be damned."

Tony chuckled, before borrowing his head into the pillow of his husband's chest. "Alright, my love. Anything you need."


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I keep apologizing for how long updates lol. Know that no matter how long it takes, I'm very much dedicated to finishing this series!!!  
> Also, if anyone finds any errors, please let me know, I only have one set of eyes :)

"Uh, hello?"

Tony woke up abruptly, narrowly avoiding Steve's chin when he threw his head up and off the other man's chest. "Yeah?" he called out, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Both men watched as their bedroom door creaked open and a nervous Dean stuck his head in, with a hand covering his eyes.

"Um, you guys slept in and so we made you guys breakfast downstairs."

Tony laughed as he responded. "And you were told to come get the disgusting couple?"

"I—I—I didn't—" the teen sputtered.

"Relax, darling," Steve called out, elbowing his husband playfully and making sure the sheet covered the both of them. "You can uncover your eyes, you're not going to see anything you shouldn't."

"No offence, but I don't really want to take that chance," Dean laughed right back. "Breakfast. Downstairs."

"You mean we have to put on underwear?" Tony shout-whispered, laughing at Dean's face as he disappeared back through the doorway.

"Yes, Tony," Steve bit back a laugh himself as he threw a pillow at the man. "That means we have to put on underwear to go eat breakfast with our kids."

"But what if I—"

"Underwear, Tony."

"Ugh, spoilsport," the genius replied, sticking out his tongue, only to receive another pillow to the face. The two teased each other lightly as they pulled their clothes on, still in awe to be in each other's presence again, as if nothing had changed in the slightest.

When they were both 'acceptably dressed', Tony reached to pull the door open, when Steve stopped him and pulled the other man into a tight hug.

"Thank you for last night, Tones," Steve muttered into his husband's hair. "It was exactly what I needed."

Tony squeezed back just as tightly. "No need to thank me, darling. I'll just have to remember that when I'm scrubbing dry cum outta my pubes later."

Steve barked in a loud laugh and kissed the man with as much love as he could, then left the room, leaving Tony blinking in awe after him.

The sight that greeted Steve was so...extraordinarily ordinary that he had to fight down his welling emotions. The kitchen was covered in pancake batter, spilt milk and flour and the table was covered with sticky syrup that, usually would've earned a sigh from the army Captain, but today it just garnered a smile. This. This is what he fought to protect. This is what he would always fight to protect. This is what he thought about every second he was gone, what he was hoping and praying to come back to.

"Papa!" Clint exclaimed upon seeing the man.

"Why, hello there, sticky monster," Steve chuckled, kissing the child's hair. "Why don't you get the wet wipes out? I have a feeling we're gonna need them after we eat."

The boy ran off, no doubt dripping syrup along the way, to do as his father asked. Steve made his way to the table and greeted the rest of his children.

"I assume dad and yourself enjoyed your night very much after we returned to our beds?" Thor smirked as he served his papa.

"You betcha!" Tony answered, strutting in through the doorway. "I gotta say, the build-up after two and a half months of not—"

"Tony!" the Captain interrupted, blushing furiously.

"He asked," the man shrugged in response, pouring himself coffee before joining the rest of the family at the table.

"Of not what?" Clint asked, returning with the wipes.

"Of not seeing each other!" Steve blurted out before any of the older siblings or Tony could make things worse. "It was just really nice to spend time together after not seeing each other."

"Are you going back to work right away?" Bruce asked, effectively changing the subject.

Steve shook his head while cutting into his pancakes. "I'm still going to drive you kids to school, but I'm staying on leave for a while to take care of Bucky. He doesn't really have anyone left since his sister was in a car crash a few years back, so I'm all he has right now."

Tony reached out and grabbed his husband's hand. "Hey, he also has all of us," he whispered. "Right kids? We're gonna give Uncle Bucky all the support he needs, right?"

There was a resounding affirmation from said kids.

Steve gave his family a huge smile. "Thank you, guys. You have no idea what that's going to mean to him."

"Is he gonna move in?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, darling," the Captain sighed in response. "There's gonna be so much time before we even have to worry about that. He needs to stay at the hospital for a while, but if he wants to and thinks he can deal with the mayhem that is you little rascals, he's more than welcome."

"The hospital?" Bruce questioned. "Is he okay?"

"Well, he's not in any danger of dying, but truthfully, I don't know," the captain revealed, and put down his cutlery to give the table his full attention. "I'm not going to tell you guys exactly what happened, that's his to tell, but know that the people who had Uncle Bucky were not very nice to him. I expect all of you to be on your best behaviour every single time you see him, understood?"

The man looked into the eyes of all of his children, spending a little longer to get Clint to agree and make sure he knew the warning was primarily for the rambunctious boy.

"When can we meet him?" Sam asked quietly.

"Soon, baby," Steve reached out to stroke the boy's face softly. "They don't really allow kids into the section of the hospital that he's in, but I'm sure we make some arrangements if we go a few at a time. We also need to make sure that he's ready first, with everything that he's been through, it might be hard for him to meet new people right away."

The table was silent for a moment, everyone returning to their breakfasts silently.

"Well," Sam broke the quiet in a small voice. "What if we made him some 'get well soon' cards? That way he can know that, even if he's not ready to meet us, we're supporting him anyways?"

Steve could've cried right then. He pulled his youngest in for a tight hug and kissed the boy's hair. "I think that's a wonderful idea, sweetheart. I know he would absolutely love it if you did that for him."

"That can be a project for after school," Tony interjected, looking at his watch. "You guys need to get going if you're gonna make it on time."

"Oh!" Steve exclaimed, letting go of Sam. "I forgot to pack the lunches last night!"

"It's okay, Papa!" Sam brought the man in for another hug. "Dean already made them! Dean's been making our lunches for almost all the time you've been gone!"

Steve raised an eyebrow at his husband, receiving a "we'll talk later" look from the man before he thanked Dean genuinely.

"Alright, then, everyone get their bags and lunches," he ordered, watching as the chaos around him unfolded.

"What time are you going to be home tonight?" Tony asked when the kids were all scrambling to collect their items.

"Visiting hours end at nine, but I can be home anytime," Steve answered as he began to clear the table. "I'll pick up the kids and be home for dinner at the normal time, then if nothing's happening I'll head back for a few hours. If that's alright?"

He looked waveringly at the other man, not sure of his thoughts.

"That's fine, love," Tony smiled. "Although I think we should plan out some talks with the kids this week."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," the genius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Dean has been taking on more of a caregiver role while you were gone, I think Sam was extra worried you weren't coming back because of what happened to John, we need to talk to Loki soon about how he's doing because I think Dean might actually hurt him soon, and the others have missed you so much, it might be nice to just spend a couple of hours each with them just hanging out."

Steve furled his eyebrows in concern. "Tony, why didn't you tell me all this in your letters?"

The man shrugged. "What good could it have done? You were literally half a world away, I'm telling you now that we can do something abou—"

"Papa, we're ready!" Thor shouted through the door to the garage.

"Okay," Steve sighed, picking up his car keys and putting on his jacket. "We'll talk more about this later, I'll call you from the hospital if I can, okay?"

Tony nodded in response.

"Hey," the captain called out, then marched back to crowd his husband against the still dirty table. "I love you."

Tony smiled. "I love you too," he whispered, then pulled the man into a deep kiss.

"It's really great to be back."


End file.
